Shadic's Escape
by Light Speed
Summary: Shadic was created for one purpose: to destroy Sonic and Shadow. Even though she doesn't want to, can GUN force her into it?
1. The Beginning

Shadic's Escape Chapter 1-2  
  
So far, this is my favorite fanfiction I ever wrote, but I'm still writing it... Bah, you get what I mean! It's (hopefully) got some humor, seriousness (is that a word?), action (YEAH BABY!!!!), some other stuff that I don't know what you would call it, oh, and alittle lovey dovey (gags, sorry, just not my favorite thing). OK, I'd give ya a summery, but A) what fun would that be? You gotta read on to find out! and B) I've gotta go to bed...darn it... So I'll stop stalling, I really REALLY hope ya'll like this story, I work to make it as good as I can. Pwease comment. *Does the puppy-dog face.*  
  
THE BEGINNING  
"Sir, the experiment is beginning to awaken," said a man to the leader of GUN.  
"Good," the leader smiled, "vital signs check?"  
"In full health," replied the man.  
"Excellent," the leader jeered, "how long till it gains full consciousness?"  
"Uncertain. But it is capable of surviving in the open air now," the man informed.  
"Release it," the leader ordered. The man reached for his walkie- talkie.  
"Release experiment Project Shadow Beta," he told whoever held the opposite walkie-talkie. The leaders smile became a grin.  
"So it begins."  
  
BIRTH  
In GUN's lab, scientists were frantically running about, typing away at computers, decoding DNA patterns, and checking notes. Against the wall was a large glass tube with an unconscious form of a hedgehog floating in a pale green liquid. Wires covered the hedgehog's body, which monitored body functions and read out all of the results on each of the computers. The scientist who received the order over the walkie-talkie began typing a series of commands on the main computer. The pale liquid started draining out of the glass tube. The hedgehog's body color was revealed to be silver with blue rings on it's ankles and upper arms, blue tipped quills, and a blue marking on it's stomach. As the liquid drained the hedgehog slouched to the bottom of the tube, the liquid dripped of it's fur. The glass tube retracted into the ceiling. After checking the read-outs of the hedgehog's vital signs, one of the scientists contacted the GUN leader.  
"Everything went smoothly, what do you want us to do?"  
"Place it in the recuperation center under close surveillance. This experiment is far to valuable to fail," commanded the leader.  
"Yes, sir," the scientist turned to another worker. "Remove it's wires and take it to room B-6. Stay with it and keep the leader informed,"  
"Right away," the female worker gently disconnected the many wires from the hedgehog's body. With surprising strength, she lifted it onto a cart and began pushing it to room B-6. The hedgehog's left arm dangled limply off the edge and swayed with the motion of the cart. The woman took an ID card from around her neck and slid it into the lock of room B-6. The door slid open and she pushed the cart in. After the entered the door slid back with a light click. The room was warm, bright, and the walls were white. The woman gently dried the hedgehog with a soft towel. When satisfied that the fur was only slightly damp, she sat herself in front of a computer. It would be her job to record the experiments profile in the systems data-base.  
"Lets see. Classification: Project Shadow Beta; species: Hedgehog; gender: female; mission: confront Hedgehog's Sonic and Shadow; name:--" she stared blankly at the blinking curser. A name? She reached for her own walkie-talkie.  
"Sir, the records require a name for the hedgehog,"  
"Name it whatever you want," the leader said shortly.  
"Alright sir. Out," she turned off the walkie-talkie. Resting her head on her hand, she thought. Smiling, she typed the name that came to mind: Shadic. She heard a quiet moaning sound and slight movement behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Shadic starting to sit up. Shadic looked around with unfocused, bright purple eyes. She flexed her fingers and arms. She turned her gaze to the woman.  
"Where, am I?" her voice was hoarse from it never being used before.  
"You are home,"  
"Home?" Shadic looked around again with more focused eyes, "Who are you?"  
"My name is Nena. Your name is Shadic,"  
"Shadic?" she whispered to herself. She silently sat, confused. Nena contacted the leader again.  
"Sir, I have named the hedgehog Shadic. She is fully awake,"  
"I'm on my way,"  
"Nena, whose coming?" Shadic asked.  
"The leader of the project,"  
"What project?"  
"Well," Nena didn't know how to tell Shadic the truth, "you, are the project,"  
"So...I'm just, a project? What happens to me now?"  
"The leader should answer your questions," as if on que, the door slid open and a man walked in. He looked at Shadic with cold, hard eyes. She could tell already that she wouldn't like this man.  
"So, Shadic is it? I've waited a long time for you to wake up," Shadic made no reply.  
"Sir," Nena spoke up, "she'll need a physical,"  
"Yes, I am aware of that. Shadic, come, I'm sure you have many questions," opening the door, he watched Shadic get up and walk past him into the hallway. He grinned, his creation seemed strong. 


	2. White Danger

Shadic's Escape Chapter 3: White Danger  
  
Last time I forgot to do the legal stuffs thing. So here it goes, I'm only doing it once, no need to repeat myself, right? OK, Sonic, Shadow, Amy, Rouge, Tails, Knuckles, & the idea of GUN belong to SEGA/SONIC TEAM. Shadic, Soko, Rain, Sam, Nena, & other characters belong to me, so no touchy! Now that that's over with, on with chapter 3! Reviews are welcome. ^_^  
  
WHITE DANGER  
He opened the door of his office, and stepped aside for Shadic to go in.  
"Sit," he directed her to a chair in front of his desk. After she sat, he sat in his own chair behind the desk.  
"Well Shadic, I'm Samuel, call me Sam. You can think of me as your boss, do as I say and everyone's happy. Do you have anything you want to ask?"  
"Yes, why did you create me? Do I have a purpose?"  
"About a year ago, another experiment, Project Shadow, was held on the space colony ARK. They created a black hedgehog that could draw power from the Chaos Emeralds. It seemed invincible. At that time we had possession of the Emeralds. It tried to steal them but we stopped and locked it away. It escaped and almost destroyed the world, with help from another hedgehog named Sonic. The black hedgehog, called Shadow, disappeared, we would have targeted him first. So now out target is Sonic. We found the code in which Project Shadow succeeded. We created you in the same way, but you have one difference which makes you more advanced. Shadow was weaker without the Chaos Emeralds, and you would have been too. But we also had a Super Emerald, which doubles in power in comparison with a Chaos Emerald. It was melted and that is what flows through your veins. All the abilities that Shadow could do, with an Emerald only, are now accessible to you permanently,"  
"Exactly what are these abilities, and how so I know how to use them?"  
"Supersonic speed, Chaos Control and Chaos Sphere to name a few. You will use them naturally; without thinking. Though you will have a coach to help develop your physical strength,"  
"Also, when you said that our target is this, Sonic, you mean my target, am I right?"  
"Correct. I must warn you that he is very hard to capture. Though he is powerful, clever, and has many of your own abilities, he relies too much on luck," Sam glanced at his watch, "It's time for your physical. The room is down the hall and on the left. There's a sign on it, you will know it when you get to it," Shadic got up, as she turned the handle Sam spoke, "Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight, you will need it," Shadic nodded and went into the hall. She looked from door to door. There were others in the hallway this time. She felt odd, it seemed she was the only non-human here. She reached a door that said Medic on it. Releasing she didn't have a card to unlock it, she knocked. A cheerful looking man opened it.  
"Well hi there. I was expecting you, come in," Shadic walked into another white room. Since Sam's room was dark, it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. "Well first things first, you gotta have a few shots," he approached Shadic will a needle, "Hold out your arm please,"  
"Shot?" Shadic put it together, "You will not put that in my arm,"  
"Oh come on, it doesn't hurt,"  
"Let me see you do it then,"  
"I already had mine, now you need yours,"  
"Why?"  
"So you don't get sick and die or something," he chuckled.  
"I don't need it," Shadic smirked, "I'm invincible,"  
"Your not gonna make this easy, are you?"  
"I can make it harder,"  
"I really don't see how. Now just let me give it to you, it'll only take a second," he took hold of her arm.  
"I don't think so. Chaos Control!" without realizing she knew how to activate Chaos Control, she warped outside. Unfortunately, it was like a blizzard outside. The cold, snowy wind cut through her fur, making her cold instantly. "Hmm, didn't know I could do that," she wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep warm. Squinting around through the snow she found the building she came from, almost invisible. Looking up she found it was getting dark. "This could be a problem. It's already below zero and it can only get colder," unable to run in the snow without stumbling, she began her long walk. The wind cause her to shiver terribly. Her tail, fur, and quills were blown behind her. She started to go numb. It took tremendous energy to move her legs through the waist-deep snow now. In a half hours time she reached the buildings gate, completely out of strength. "I can't- go on," she collapsed in the snow, exhausted. She fought just to stay awake. Though her eyes seemed frozen shut and she couldn't move, she was awake, barely. It was completely dark now and there was a definite drop in temperature.  
"Shadic?!" she heard the voice of Nena. She tried to call back but she just couldn't. She felt Nena push her warm hand against her cold rist. "Oh Shadic, what are you doing out here? Please be alive!" she felt herself being lifted as Nena rushed her back inside. When they entered Shadic heard the voice of the man who wanted to give her a shot.  
"Nena, what on Mobius happened to her?"  
"I found her lying out in the snow. She feels like ice,"  
"All I wanted to do was give her a simple shot,"  
"We have to get her warm. Her pulse is already weak,"  
"I'll take her. You can get her some hot soup from the kitchen," Nena handed Shadic to the doctor and started running towards the kitchen. She wanted to tell Nena to stay and to let the man go, but the most she managed was a small moan.  
"Take it easy. We'll take care of you," she didn't want to hear it from this man. She trusted no one, except Nena. She opened her eyes half- way and struggled to speak.  
"N-no, N-Ne-Nena,"  
"Nena wants me to keep you warm, she'll be back in a minute, I promise," Shadic wanted him to leave her alone, but was so numb and cold that she couldn't do anything to stop him from laying her on a bed in his office and covering her with a thick blanket. A moment later Nena ran through the door with a thermos a soup.  
"Nena, can I talk to you a minute?" the man asked. In low whispers away from Shadic they spoke.  
"She won't let me give her any shot and of all times she needs one, now. If she doesn't get it she could die and she just doesn't seem to trust me. She didn't even want me to bring her here,"  
"I think she trusts me more because I was the first person she saw. I hope with time she will trust others. Maybe she will let me give her the shot," Nena went to Shadic, "You really need a shot, would it be better if I gave it to you? I promise it won't hurt, I get them too," Shadic nodded very slightly and in a tired way. Nena quickly retrieved the needle from the desk where it was dropped earlier. "Could you hold up your arm?" weakly, Shadic tried to move her arm, but it felt like lead. With some help they got the shot done. The door slammed open and Sam came in wild with anger.  
"Shadic! Why on Mobius did you do that?! What were you thinking?!" she remained silent.  
"Sir," the doctor spoke, "she only felt threatened by me,"  
"Threatened? Threatened! I'll show you threatened!" he grabbed Shadic by the arm and pulled her to his face. "If you ever try anything like that again I'll make sure you don't live long enough to be threatened!" she pulled herself from his grasp with renewed energy.  
"You will never be strong enough to pose a threat to me,"  
"I suggest you mind your orders. Tomorrow morning you will begin your training and if your smart you won't cause any trouble," he turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Shadic glared after him; her hands balled up into fists. Nena put a hand on her shoulder.  
"Don't mind him. Come on, lay down. Your still cold,"  
"I'm fine,"  
"You need rest," Shadic leaned against the wall merely feeling sleepy.  
"From what I understand I just spent alot of time sleeping,"  
"Trust me, you will be thankful if you get some sleep. I'll show you your room,"  
"If it'll make you happy. I do still feel alittle weak, how long should that last?"  
"I'd say by morning you'll be fine," the doctor said, "I also think that to be on the safe side maybe Nena or myself should carry you to your room. Your having trouble standing now,"  
"I don't need to be babied,"  
"I don't need to have you collapse in my doorway,"  
"Shadic, I'll help you. You could just lean on me it you don't want to be carried, is that alright?" Nena asked.  
"Alright," Shadic agreed. Putting some of her weight on Nena, the made their way to her room. Shadic growled as they passed Sam's room, fortunately unheard by Nena.  
"Here it is," Nena took a card-key from her pocket and opened the door. Afterwards she gave it to Shadic. "You'll need this to get in. I'll get you in the morning. Good night," she left and shut the door behind her. Shadic had gained most of her energy back by now and began to explore her small room. There were three things in it: a bed, a mirror slightly taller than herself, and a window. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was the first time she had seen what she looked like. She made several fighting poses and smiled. After a few more poses just for fun she looked at the view outside the window. All she saw was swirling white snow. Yawning once she climbed on her bed. In a few minutes she was in a deep, dreamless sleep. 


	3. Training

Shadic's Escape Chapter 4: Training  
  
Yay, chapter four, whoooo!!!  
  
Random people in crowd: Um... yay?  
  
Right... oh well, here it be weither you like it or not!  
  
TRAINING  
Five o'clock in the morning, Nena came to wake Shadic, who was sleeping soundly. Nena chuckles at the sight of Shadic rolled into a small, spiky ball. She gently shook her.  
"Oh Shadic, rise and shine," from somewhere inside the ball she yawned deeply. She uncurled herself and looked out the window.  
"But it's still dark,"  
"The early bird gets the worm,"  
"Well I'm not a bird and I don't want any worms," Shadic said before crawling under the blankets. Nena pulled them back off of her.  
"Come on, you have a big day ahead of you,"  
"Alright, alright, I'm up," she got up and stretched. She went to the window. The sky was dark but clear. "Hey, the snow stopped," she looked at the stars in wonder.  
"Well, lets get going. You don't want to miss your first day of training,"  
"Training for what, exactly?"  
"Physical training," Nena led Shadic through the hallways, eventually coming to a door which said Private Training. "I can only take you to the door. It might be intense, but I know you can get through it. Good luck," she opened the door for Shadic then walked away. Shadic walked into the strangest, and biggest room she had seen. It looked like a forest; felt like one too. On the edges of the ceiling there was a room with glass windows from which someone could see all of the forest-like room. There was a man watching Shadic from them.  
"Welcome Shadic, to the most dangerous room GUN has to offer. I suggest that you keep your eyes open, because I control everything in that forest. If I wanted to I could blast your head off," to prove his point, a large laser on the ceiling focused on Shadic.  
"What's so scary about that?" Shadic said, "Gee, that's your best? Pitiful."  
"Don't think you invincible yet. First, let's test your speed and agility. Destroy the robots; don't let them destroy you,"  
"What? Your going to test my power against a few buckets of bolts?"  
"To be more precise, about twenty armed destroyer robots that will only attack you," Shadic smirked at what he said.  
"They don't stand a chance against me, what did you say your name was?" the man chuckled.  
"Your a confident little thing. I should let you in on a little secret, they are armed with much more that lasers. They were designed to be stronger and trickier than you. So you'll have to work hard and use every trick in the book. Oh, and the names Neo,"  
"Well, Neo, are we going to start or stand around talking?"  
"So, not only are you confident, but your impatient too! Well, then I'll crank the level of the robots up to max, just to keep you busy,"  
"Fine by me, just bring it on already," Shadic took a fighting pose, while Neo released the robots. Half came from one side, half from the other, attempting to form a circle to trap Shadic. But she had her own plan. These robots could only fire when they stopped, so once the circle was done each one would start shooting their lasers at her for all they were worth. She waited until the had raised their lasers.  
"Chaos Control!" Shadic warped into a nearby tree. She watched as all but five robots were destroyed by opposite laser fire. She didn't see where four of them went, just the one directly under the limb she was standing on. She jumped and spun, her sharp quills cut straight through the robot, destroying it. Glancing up at Neo, Shadic found someone else with him, Sam. He was watching her with his cold, hard, unblinking eyes. But she had been distracted too long. She felt a rope tighten around her middle, pinning her arms to her side. "What?" she was surprised. Another rope tightened around her legs, causing her to trip. Both ropes were held by a robot, and a third was standing over her, ready to fire. But Shadic had a move that would take alot of energy and it could save her now. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. When she had focused the needed energy, she opened them. Her eyes were not the usual bright purple, but a dark purple. Her entire body had begun to glow with a light made of swirling colors. She unleashed unseen energy. It broke the ropes binding her and sent the remaining robots flying into the walls, causing them to explode. The trees were torn from their roots and also sent to the very edges of the room. The windows shattered and the lights could only flicker now. Everything was in complete destruction and all objects were repelled from Shadic as if there was a force field surrounding her. Slowly, her eyes lightened to there normal color and as they did so the swirling light around her faded, then disappeared.  
"What the heck was that?" Sam yelled in surprize. Neo just stood there, covered in broken glass with his mouth open and eyes wide. Shadic stood and looked at the destruction she caused with satisfaction.  
"Hey Neo, you acted like that would be hard! If that's what you use to defend yourselves then I'm pretty surprised that your all still alive!"  
"Those were one of the strongest models on the planet, no one could ever defeat that many that fast and easily. We didn't design her to be able to do that, did we?" Neo asked Sam slowly.  
"No we did not. At least it was recorded on tape, I knew it would be a good idea to put cameras in there. This may be a cause for a discussion, tell everyone to report to meeting room 6, now,"  
"Yes, sir,"  
"Shadic, you will stand outside the door. We may call you in," Sam told her. Neo's voice could be heard echoing in the halls from the loudspeakers.  
"All personnel involved in PSB report to meeting room 6 immediately for an important discussion," he announced. Shadic sighed loudly. More trouble, all she did was what she was told, what's wrong with that? Making her way through the halls, she muttered.  
"Humans...who needs them." she sat herself heavily into a chair across from the closed door. Nothing could be heard except the buzzing of the dim lights. Already bored, she leaned back in the chair, crossed her arms and legs, and stared at the ceiling. She was thinking about when she had destroyed the last of the robots. She liked the feeling of all that power flowing through her body; the energy that left everything in ruins. Closing her eyes, she could recall every detail. A few mere minutes later, the door opened. Without opening her eyes, Shadic knew that someone had been sent to get her. She just flicked her ears towards the sound, letting the person know she was awake.  
"You can come in now," said an unknown, low-pitched voice of a woman. Opening one eye, Shadic realized that this woman seemed frightened of her.  
"You don't have to be so tense, I don't bite you know," the woman just made a sound deep in her throat. Shadic could tell she didn't believe her. Shrugging, she walking past the woman and into the room. Men and women were seated behind a long, slightly curving table. Nena was there too, and she smiled kindly at Shadic. Sam, in the center chair, spoke first.  
"I am, to say the least, surprised, and worried. Whatever you did to those robots was not an ability we gave you. So naturally, this could mean that something went wrong when we made you. And it could pose a threat to our own safety,"  
"Uh-huh," Shadic wasn't interested.  
"You might not think this is a serious matter, but we do. To spend millions of dollars and years of research on a single project just to see it fail is unacceptable. To ensure our own safety, we put together a device that would protect us from you and it is a very good mechanism to train you with," Sam hinted slyness.  
"Really?" Shadic would rather be doing a million things other than this right now. Including sleeping, looking out the window, and exploring the building. A kind looking black woman from Sam's right approached Shadic with what looked like a simple gold colored bracelet. She snapped it tightly around Shadic's right rist. Shadic looked at it with disgust. "So this is your protection? What's it supposed to do?"  
"It will keep you at bay, and once it's on, it won't come off, so save yourself the trouble and don't try to pull it off. As for what it really does, I can show you. We need a test run," Sam said with the same slyness and grinned. He had a remote control in his hand. Glancing to the side, Shadic saw Nena become uneasy. Shadic didn't like to see Nena like that, it made her feel upset too somehow. But she didn't have time to worry about it after Sam had pushed a button on his controller; a button that must have activated the bracelet on Shadic's rist. Electricity was emitted from it and formed a ball around Shadic, trapping her inside a sphere of electricity. She fell to her knees and screamed out in pain. She never imagined something could hurt this badly, it was like thousands of burning hot wires wrapping around her. Shadic's cries of pain seemed to hurt Nena.  
"Stop it!" Nena yelled to Sam. He didn't stop right away, he seemed to be enjoying Shadic's suffering. Eventually though, it did stop. Even after the electrical sphere had disappeared, bolts of electricity shot across Shadic's body every few moments.  
"Well, I think it is very effective, wouldn't you say?" Sam asked those around him. Everyone but Nena, and of course, Shadic, agreed.  
"Your all pure evil! Don't you give a care about anyone else?" Shadic hissed at Sam as she got to her feet. She made a fist. "I oughta..." she had planned to punch him. But, again, Sam had activated the bracelet, laughing. Again Shadic was overcome by intense pain. Tears leaked from Nena's eyes. This time Sam didn't stop until Shadic fell to the floor trembling.  
"Temper, temper," he mocked. Shadic stayed on her knees with her eyes closed and her teeth gritted. She felt defeated; like a slave. No one, but Nena, cared for her. These people saw her only as a possession, not a living creature. Just a weapon of mass destruction that they commanded. She bowed her head sadly as she accepted the fact that she was not meant to have a true life. Sam laughed again, "Good girl." he said like she was a mindless dog. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have nothing more in life to fear. Nothing is stronger than us now, for we control the true ultimate life form. You are all dismissed," Shadic felt everyone starring at her as they left. She still hadn't move, she thought everything was completely pointless. She was aware that Sam was circling around her. "I guess that I'll have to be your trainer now, as you scared Neo off. Get on your feet, I want to make sure that you can swim," Shadic got up and followed Sam, keeping her gaze on the floor. She hardly noticed when they arrived at the Olympic sized pool. "If you have any hedgehog instincts, they should be telling you that you cannot swim. If all went well, you should be able too. So get in, and you better not drown," Shadic did have true instincts, and wanted to stay away from the water. But, unwilling to be shocked again, she dived into the pool. At first, she had a hard time swimming the laps around the pool. After awhile, it seemed she just automatically learned how to swim, but she still felt uncomfortable. Sam stood at the edge and watched her. All the while, one thought came across Shadic's mind: If I were free, I wouldn't have to do this,"Go under the water." Sam's voice echoed in the large room. Shadic thought that she liked it better underwater than above it. She liked the different lighting, the blue tinge, and the near silence. Running out of air, she returned to the surface. "Not too bad. I have time for one more exercise, then I have more important things to tend to. I want to see how strong of a swimmer you are," he flipped a switch on the side of the pool deck. The water slowly started to twirl, causing a whirlpool. "Try swimming against the current," Shadic tried, but found it surprisingly difficult. She struggled to move forward, but the best she managed was to stay in the same spot. Frustrated, she swam harder. Still, nothing happened. She tried her luck underwater. Instead of going forward, she went back alittle. Breaking to the surface, Sam called for her to stop and get out.  
"Get out? How?!"  
"Just stop swimming and hold onto the side. Then work you way to the ladder," Shadic did do, and found getting to the ladder was easy. As soon as she got out she shook the water from her fur. It stood up, making many miniature spikes. "You are done for today, you can go back to you room," leaving the pool, Sam went one way, Shadic the other. In the hall, Shadic met Nena, she seemed excited.  
"I'm glad I found you. Go to your room and I'll meet you there in a bit. I might be able to give you a big surprize," she ran off, and Shadic watched after her curiously. When she was out of sight Shadic went into her room, finding it the same as she had left it. She threw the jumbled pile of blankets on the bed. Her idea of cleaning up. Then she sat by the window, the best spot in the room. The weather was the opposite of the night before. The sky was bright blue and the sun made the snow sparkle. She didn't mind if Nena took her time coming, if she could she would love to stay by that window for days. 


	4. Plans

Shadic's Escape Chapter 5: Plans  
  
Ta-da, chapter 5! And I wanna thank Crockgirl13 for reviewing, you made me a happy gal!  
  
PLANS  
It was hard to tell exactly how long Shadic had been looking outside when there came a soft knock on the door. Already knowing who it was, she stood and opened the door.  
"Hello, Nena,"  
"Hi, can I ask you something?"  
"You just did, but I get what you mean," Shadic teased. Nena laughed.  
"Your right, I did. Anyways, if you could leave here for the day, would you want to?"  
"Yeah, of course! Here I'm treated like an old, ugly mutt with a high- tech collar," Shadic answered referring to the golden bracelet.  
"Well, I managed to pull a few strings and, if you want, you can stay with me for awhile. Are you interested?"  
"Wow! Are you serious? Yeah I wanna come!" she cried out happily.  
"Then lets get going, it's alittle bit a drive," Nena said. Shadic cheered and rushed out the door with super sonic speed. She had to skid to a halt and come back though.  
"Um, I'll just follow you because I don't know were we're going." she admitted, then blushed with imbarasement. Nena just laughed again and led Shadic out of the building and to a white car.  
"Boy, you've never been this excited before!" Nena exclaimed as she and Shadic got into the car. Nena began to drive to where, Shadic guessed, she lived.  
"Nothing exciting ever happened to me before this," she was busy watching the new scenery as they drove on. After a half an hour had passed, she was bored and uncomfortable. She tried to see if she could work the bracelet from her rist, but, like Sam had said, it was stuck tight. "Are we there yet?"  
"You have a very short attention span, don't you?"  
"Yes, I guess so,"  
"I live at the top of this hill," Nena said. In a moment, a wooden house could be seen past the bare trees.  
"That house?"  
"Yep," they pulled into the driveway, "this is it. We live alone up here. The view and silence is wonderful," both got out and Shadic stretched. The front door of the house opened and a small child came running out. The little toddler ran right past Nena and went to Shadic. The little girl hugged Shadic tightly, though she hardly came past her waist.  
"Puppy!" the young one yelled happily.  
"Puppy?" Shadic was confused, "Um, I think you might have your species crossed,"  
"Puppy! Puppy!" the child insisted. Hugging Shadic tightly, she started drooling all over her fur.  
"Aww, yuck!"  
"Sorry about that Shadic," Nena said, pulling the child away, "this is my youngest daughter, Kimi. She just turned three,"  
"Puppy," Kimi said promptly to her mother, pointing to Shadic.  
"Why does she keep calling me 'puppy'?"  
"There are some things I don't even want to know. She has two brothers who will be home from school soon,"  
"Their not gonna call me a puppy, are they?"  
"No, there're a lot older. One's thirteen, the other is sixteen,"  
"You know, it's kinda funny. When we left I said I was being treated like a dog, now some kid calls me a puppy! All this time you had me convinced I was a hedgehog," Shadic said with a laugh as they entered the house. Nena let Kimi down, who ran into another room, picked up a stuffed bear, and brought it to Shadic.  
"See?" Kimi said, holding out her bear.  
"Uh, yeah, er, very...cute." Shadic responded strangely. The front door could be heard opening, then closing.  
"Yo mom! We're home," a boy's voice called. Kimi ran now to meet the new voice.  
"Puppy!" she told him.  
"Dude! Mom got a dog?" the same voice said.  
"No way!" said an older boy. The thirteen year old came running into the kitchen, where Shadic and Nena were. He skidded quickly to a stop.  
"What kind of dog is that supposed to be?!" he asked with wide eyes. His older brother came in behind him, also stopping.  
"I don't think it's a dog," he said slowly.  
"What? Don't you know a hedgehog when you see one?" Shadic asked calmly.  
"It talks?!" the boys yelled in unison.  
"Well, yeah, what world have you been living in lately?" Shadic asked with alittle annoyance. The two brothers looked at each other, then to their mother.  
"Mom? What is that thing?" the younger one asked nervously.  
"Boys, this is Shadic. Shadic, this is Kevin and Sheen," Nena answered. Kimi skipped in cheerfully, and again clung to Shadic. Shadic felt very uncomfortable and out of place. The boys, seeing there was no danger, relaxed, alittle. Shadic examined them. Kevin, the older one, was about as tall as Nena, skinny, and had a few freckles and glasses. Sheen, the thirteen year old, wasn't near as tall as his mother, though quite taller than Shadic, who only stood around three feet, two inches tall. He looked much like his brother, but didn't have glasses. Both had short light brown hair, Sheen had his spiked, and both had green eyes.  
"Ok, so what is it, mom?" Sheen asked.  
"Listen, I'm not an 'it'! I'm a 'she', got it?" Shadic said, getting more and more annoyed.  
"Sorry, what is she?" he corrected.  
"Remember that project I told you I was helping with at work?" Nena began. Kevin suddenly got excited.  
"No way! You mean...this...she...it worked?" his words stumbled over each other.  
"He's interested in this type of stuff," Nena whispered to Shadic, "He studies it whenever he can."  
"I can't believe your artificial life experiment actually worked!" Kevin continued. Shadic raised an eyebrow, she didn't see what all the fuss was about.  
"Here we go again," Sheen rolled his eyes.  
"Shut it runt. Mom, can I show Shadic something in my room?"  
"Don't ask me, ask her,"  
"Oh, right. Shadic, can I?"  
"I guess so, since you asked so nicely," she answered sarcastically. Sheen laughed.  
"Yeah Kevin, where's you manners?"  
"Funny, I was about to ask you the same,"  
"Ouch, that was harsh,"  
"Aright you two, break it up," Nena said in a warning tone.  
"Sorry mom, come on Shadic, follow me. My room's upstairs,"  
"Hey, wait a minute, don't you mean our room?" Sheen said, following them upstairs.  
"Minor setback,"  
"Hardy-har-har." When they had entered Kevin and Sheen's bedroom, Sheen flopped down on his bed. Kevin started looking for something. One side of the room had a computer, chalkboard, and science related things. The other had a TV, several video games, and a CD player.  
"Wow," Shadic awed.  
"What? It's just our bedroom, nothing special," Kevin said, still searching for something.  
"You have, so much. The only belongings I have in my room are a bed, mirror, light, and a window," Shadic said. She was standing in the doorway, looking at every inch of the room.  
"My sides better!" stated Sheen.  
"Shut up cheeseball." Kevin told him before throwing a pillow at him.  
"Aww, now you hurt my feelings,"  
"You two are confusing me," Shadic said, "I thought that family's weren't supposed to fight,"  
"Brothers are supposed to argue," Kevin reassured her. He had finally found what he was looking for: a notebook. Shadic shook her head, she did not understand why they fought. Kevin sat on the edge of his bed with his book.  
"Oh no, not the book," Sheen moaned.  
"Why don't you play your video game or something?" Kevin told him.  
"Oh yeah, I still gotta finish the last level!" Sheen said as he started up his video game.  
"So, what's that for?" Shadic asked Kevin.  
"Mom gave me some papers about you that were thrown away. She's not really supposed to do that, since it's all a big secret, but as long as no one finds them, she won't get in trouble. I have everything from your height and weight to you DNA pattern," Kevin said proudly.  
"Let me see that," Shadic took the book from him and skimmed through the pages with interest. An old, tattered picture fell out. "What's this?" she picked up the picture and looked at it. It shown a serious looking black and red male hedgehog.  
"That's Shadow," Kevin answered.  
"He looks so cool!" Sheen said before the words 'Game Over' flashed on the TV screen. "Aww, not again!"  
"So...this is Shadow," Shadic whispered, still looking at the picture. "What happened to him?"  
"No one really knows for sure. Most think he's dead, but I don't," Kevin said.  
"Really, the Ultimate Life form can't die, duh," Sheen said after 'Game Over' flashed on the screen again. "This is impossible!" he yelled, tossing the controller to the side.  
"Nothing's impossible," Kevin told him.  
"Says you!" Sheen snapped back.  
"Please, how hard can it be?" Shadic said, finally setting the book and picture aside. "You blow up the enemies, make sure you make it out alive, cake. Actually sounds a lot like my training session,"  
"Then you do it!" Sheen threw the controller to Shadic harder that he normally would have in his anger. She caught it.  
"Fine, I will," it seemed she had only started when the credits were rolling across the screen. "Cake," she repeated, throwing the controller back.  
"Whoa, how did you do that?" Sheen sputtered.  
"Must be a gift," Shadic responded slyly.  
"Impressive," Kevin said, nodding.  
"I was beaten by a girl!" Sheen wailed. Shadic glared at him.  
"Watch what you say, human. Or I'll rip your arms from their sockets,"  
"I take it back! I'll just, uh, go downstairs now bye!" He ran out of the room and down the stairs.  
"Touchy," Kevin mocked. Shadic crossed her arms.  
"No one insults me,"  
"Whatever you say. Anyway, I wanted to tell you something,"  
"What?"  
"You know how you are supposed to bring Sonic and Shadow to GUN?"  
"Yeah, so?"  
"I don't think you should, because they're innocent." Kevin said.  
"Why should I believe that?"  
"Because I only believe in facts, so I know what I'm talking about. Plus, I've talked to Sonic before, and if you want, you can too,"  
"Really? How?" this had caught Shadic's attention.  
"Over the internet, you wanna?"  
"Alright," Shadic answered. Kevin already had his computer on and had a chat program open.  
"Hey Sonic, you there?" he said into the microphone.  
"Yeah, last I knew," a male's voice answered from the speakers.  
"I have someone here that you should talk to, ok?"  
"Ok with me,"  
"Aright," Kevin told Shadic, "I'll leave you alone, I have a feeling you two might talk awhile," he went downstairs. Shadic sat in the computer chair. She had to adjust the height of the microphone.  
"Are you really Sonic Hedgehog?" she asked.  
"The one and only, who are you?" he answered.  
"Shadic Hedgehog,"  
"A hedgehog huh? Cool! So, what's on your mind?"  
"Too much to put into words,"  
"Well, try,"  
"First, you know Shadow, right?"  
"Yep,"  
"I was made, like he was,"  
"Whoa, um, congratulations?" Sonic said with slight surprise.  
"Second, I was made to bring both of you to GUN,"  
"What?! Not them again! What do those slow-mo's think I did this time? Is there a law against saving Mobius?"  
"According to what they tell me, the two of you tried to destroy Mobius,"  
"No way, that was Eggman," Sonic insisted.  
"Why should I believe you?"  
"Hey, I got proof. I'll get Tails to upload it to your computer, last time I tried I blew up our old one,"  
"Who's Tails?"  
"My best friend," there was silence as the upload began. When it finished, Shadic watched with disbelief as photographs, TV reports, and newspaper columns showed her what really happened during the time ARK almost crashed into earth. He was right, they had fought to protect Mobius. "See? It was all Eggman's fault. Well, at first Shadow wanted to destroy the planet but he was just confused. Eggman is already in trouble with GUN 'cause he freed Shadow,"  
"Your lying!" Shadic yelled at Sonic. She didn't want to believe the word of the hedgehog she was meant to capture.  
"Who told you I was bad?"  
"Sam, the leader of GUN,"  
"There's my point! Shadic, listen to me, he's a bad guy,"  
"You think I don't know that already?!" Shadic was getting angry again.  
"So why capture me like he says if you know it's wrong?"  
"One, you should see what he does to me when I do what he says, I don't even wanna think about what he would do to me if I disobeyed him! Two, I don't know that it's wrong,"  
"I know that deep down you know it is,"  
"It doesn't matter what I think, he made me into his slave, so just shut up about it!" she yelled. There was no response from Sonic for awhile.  
"I can free you," he said finally.  
"No one can help me, and what good would it do you?"  
"I can, I promise, tonight I can free you,"  
"What's my fate have to do with you? Why try and help me, why not just let me suffer?"  
"Oh come on, do I really need a reason?"  
"They'll just find us and lock both of us behind bars,"  
"They haven't made anything tough enough to keep me prisoner! Come on, look at what you have to lose, and what you have to gain," again there was silence. "Do you trust me?"  
"I don't trust anyone. But, it your willing to help me and ready to risk everything, I'll be waiting, I guess,"  
"Alright! Ten o'clock, tonight. I won't let you down,"  
"I look forward to it, I have to go now, goodbye,"  
"Same here, see ya tonight," Sonic said. Shadic sat, deep in thought. She found she had mixed feelings. The one who was supposed to be her enemy was promising to help her. But if they were caught, the results would be horrible. She didn't hear Kevin and Kimi come up the stairs until they stood in the doorway.  
"Puppy?" Shadic turned to look at Kimi, who stared to giggle and squirm in Kevin's arms.  
"How'd your talk with Sonic go?" Kevin asked.  
"Fine, just fine, I guess,"  
"Good," he managed to say as he struggled to hold Kimi.  
"You, uh, need some help there?" Shadic asked and stood up.  
"Yeah, that would be nice," Shadic took the squirming Kimi from Kevin. Kimi relaxed as Shadic held her and yawned deeply. "Thanks, it's my turn to make her take a nap today,"  
"Well, that's already taken care of," Kimi was sleeping in Shadic's arms.  
"Wow, how could she have fallen asleep so fast? There's something about you that she much like,"  
"I'll put her in bed for you, where does she sleep?"  
"In the room across the hall," Shadic carried Kimi to her room and laid her in the small bed. She felt a close bond to Kimi. Kimi opened a sleepy eye.  
"'Night, 'night, Puppy," she said. Shadic put the blankets over her.  
"Sweet dreams, Kimi," Shadic rose, turned off the light, and softly shut the door before heading downstairs. 


	5. Fun and Relaxation

Shadic's Escape Chapter 6: Fun and Relaxation  
  
Sorry that I haven't put up any new chapter since forever. I'll try not to wait so long between chapters anymore, ok?  
  
FUN AND RELAXATION  
Once downstairs, Shadic found Nena in the kitchen, washing dishes. She looked up and smiled as Shadic stood next to her.  
"Kevin told me what Kimi did. Did she give you any trouble?"  
"Nah, she fell asleep as soon as I started holding her,"  
"Just when you think you understand children," Nena said half to herself, "they always surprise you,"  
"I'll take you word for it," both were silent, the only noise was the soft clanging of dishes.  
"You seem troubled, Shadic, is everything alright?" said Nena with a suspicious look.  
"Yes...no...I guess alittle of both," Shadic admitted.  
"Alright, out with it," Nena said, drying her hands on a towel. Shadic didn't plan on telling her about what she was going to do that night, but she had a related question.  
"If Sonic is innocent, would Sam still make me go after him?" she asked.  
"I'm afraid he would. Sam is a cruel man with a one track mind," Nena answered.  
"So why do you work with him?"  
"I don't want to, but it's in my family history to work at GUN. If I didn't I would disappoint my whole family."  
"What if I refused to capture Sonic?"  
"Sam has ways to make even the strongest creatures do what he wants."  
"Oh, well, I was just wondering." Shadic murmured. Nena put a hand on her shoulder.  
"It's good to wonder. I know many things are very unclear to you now. Why don't you go outside & relax awhile, get you mind off of things. The boys are sledding now, you can join them,"  
"Ok, thank you, Nena,"  
"Anytime,"  
  
* * * * *  
Outside the sky was bright blue and the snow sparkled. Shadic figured that the night before she mush have teleported herself in a deep area of snow because here the snow only came to somewhere between her knees and ankles. When she reached the area where the boys were sledding, Sheen was just going down the hill on a snowboard and Kevin was at the top holding a large sled. Shadic watched Sheen snowboard; she had to admit, he was pretty good. There was a ramp at the bottom of the hill, it was just a mound of snow. When he hit the ramp, he spun once, then landed. Shadic waited until he climbed back up the hill to meet his brother before walking towards them.  
"Hi guys," she called, "Nice trick Sheen,"  
"Thanks, um, are you still mad about the game thing?" Sheen asked with a slight tone of nervousness in his voice.  
"No, you humans can't help but say things like that,"  
"Cool," Sheen said with a sigh of relief, yet not knowing if that was a complement, or an insult.  
"Why don't you try snowboarding Shadic?" suggested Kevin.  
"Yeah Shadic, give it a go!" Sheen handed Shadic the snowboard.  
"Ok," Shadic took the snowboard and went to the edge of the hill. Looking down, she decided the fastest route would be to follow the trail left by Sheen. If she jumped at the right time when she hit the ramp, she thought she might be able to go higher and farther. After strapping the snowboard over her shoes, she started her way down, following the zig- zagging trail Sheen left embedded in the snow. She focused hard on the ramp, she had to get her timing just right. Finally hitting the ramp, she jumped. Her timing was perfect, and, just as she thought, she was able to spin tree times before hitting the ground again. The two boys at the top were both staring at her with open mouths. They looked at each other and then back at her with cocked heads. She winked and gave them the thumbs up. Upon reaching the top of the hill, she handed back the board. "Easy," she smiled again.  
"Wow," Sheen awed at her, "Where'd you learn to do that?"  
"I dunno," she shrugged, "Guess I'm just a quick learner,"  
"That was awesome! " Kevin exclaimed.  
"Aww, you guys are gonna make me blush," Shadic said with a laugh, "So, now what?"  
"Hey, lets show her the igloo!" Sheen suggested.  
"Yeah, wanna see it, Shadic?" Kevin asked.  
"Sure, where is it?" Shadic said.  
"Alittle ways through the woods."  
"Lets leave the boards here, that way we won't have to carry them," Sheen said while laying his snowboard on the snowy earth.  
"Good idea," Kevin followed suit and put down the sled he held.  
"Through yonder trees!" Sheen shouted as he lead the way.  
"Onward!" Kevin yelled in response.  
"Uh, right," Shadic murmured, and followed behind them. They climbed over fallen trees and limbs; went through thick, dead weeds; crossed over frozen puddles of water and mud; and trudged through the snow. By the time they reached a small clearing where the igloo was standing, Kevin and Sheen were out of breath, though Shadic was breathing easily and wasn't at all tired. They crawled inside the large igloo, were the boys rested & Shadic looked around her with interest. The walls were made of heavily packed snow, which blocked out most of the cold, though their breath still rose in clouds in front of them. The snow had a mysterious blue tint to it.  
"So, what do you think?" Kevin asked after finally catching his breath.  
"Pretty cool, nicely built," Shadic said with approvement, "How long did it take to make?"  
"A couple of hours, it would have taken less time if dumb-dumb didn't wreck it halfway through the first time," Kevin pointed at Sheen.  
"I did not wreck it!" he yelled, "I told you, it caved in on itself. You made the sides too weak and to top too heavy,"  
"Oh sure, blame it on me," Kevin rolled his eyes.  
"Your just denying that it was your fault!"  
"I am not!"  
"Stupid-head!"  
"Cheese-ball!" the argument continued until both of them were out of breath again.  
"Are you two finished yet?" Shadic asked impatiently.  
"Wait," Sheen threw a snowball at Kevin, "yeah, I'm done." he said happily. Kevin wiped the snow off of his face and returned fire.  
"It's war!" he yelled. Shadic rolled her eyes and sighed. Snowballs filled the air inside of the igloo and, at the risk of being hit, Shadic crawled back out through the tunnel which served as a door.  
"Humans." she murmured as she shook her head and listened to the sounds of the fight. Eventually, after Shadic lost track of time, they came out panting and covered with snow. My turn to have some fun, she thought to herself. She threw a snowball at each of them, hitting them both square in the face. They stood blinking, it took them a few second to figure out what happened.  
"Attack!" they yelled together, throwing their snowballs now at Shadic. To her they moved very slowly.  
"Chaos Control!" she yelled and then disappeared in a green flash. The boys looked were their snowballs had landed.  
"Huh?" Sheen said, confused. Kevin remained silent with a puzzled look on his face. What got their attention was a ton of snow falling over their heads.  
"Yipe! Cold!" Kevin shouted while Sheen ran around trying to get the snow off of him. Shadic had teleported behind them and silently gathered snow, which she then dropped over them. She was on her back laughing.  
"Why you!" Sheen growled and both of them ran at Shadic.  
"Uh-oh." she got up and tore off, leaving them in a miniature blizzard. Sheen still wanted to follow but Kevin stopped him.  
"Don't bother, she's got supersonic speed. We can't keep up with that." he said. Sheen kicked the snow.  
"You know what? She's a really good snowball fighter."  
"No kidding there." Kevin murmured. Shadic returned and stood by the trees.  
"Give up?" she asked.  
"We give." Sheen admitted.  
"C'mon, let's go home. It's already six o'clock." Kevin read from his watch.  
"Six? Already?" Shadic said quietly. In only four hours she would meet Sonic.  
"Hey, are you coming or not?" Sheen's voice interrupted her thoughts.  
"Oh, yeah." they started their walk back home. Their home, not mine, remember? Shadic told herself. By the time they reached the house it was fully dark. While the boys took off their coats, boots, hats, snowpants, and gloves, Shadic shook the snow from her fur and sent snow flying everywhere. But she remained wet. "It's gonna take days for me to dry out!" she complained.  
"We can find a blanket for you, that should help." Kevin told her as they went indoors. It seemed very warm inside. Nena was sitting in a chair knitting while Kimi lay on the floor coloring.  
"Puppy!" Kimi threw down her crayons and ran to Shadic. She held her arm out to stop Kimi from hugging her.  
"Wait, Puppy's all wet." she told her.  
"Puppy wet!" Kimi yelled happily.  
"Yeah, um, go color some more, ok?"  
" 'K." Kimi sat down and continued to color.  
"Did you three have fun?" Nena asked.  
"Yeah mom, it was awesome!" Sheen answered.  
"The best snowball fight ever!" Kevin added.  
"I think I won that fight too." Shadic replied.  
"Definitely." the boys said together. Nena laughed.  
"Sound like I know who's going to sleep good tonight."  
"Sleep? No way! There's still loads to do." Sheen said.  
"Wheel some of you have school tomorrow." the boys groaned.  
"Can we stay up alittle longer?" Kevin pleaded.  
"We can watch a movie after dinner and you can stay up until that's over." Nena said.  
"Alright." the two murmured.  
"What's for dinner?" Sheen asked.  
"Spaghetti."  
"Yummy!" Sheen licked his lips.  
"Oh mom, do we have any blankets to help Shadic's fur to dry?"  
"I'll see what I can find." Nena set down her knitting and searched around in a closet. "I hope you don't mind green, Shadic." she said as she brought out a thick green quilt. She wrapped it around Shadic.  
"It's fine, thanks." Shadic said, glad that she would be able to warm up faster because she was shivering.  
"Not to be rude or anything, but can you even see colors?" Kevin asked Shadic.  
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be able to?" she answered.  
"Some animals can't, and I was just wondering." Kevin shrugged.  
"Not that this isn't fascinating," Sheen said, "but we need to figure out what to do next."  
"Dinner will be done in about half an hour." Nena told them and then headed into the kitchen. She took Kimi with her.  
"So, any ideas?" Kevin asked.  
"I dunno, wanna play Twister?" Sheen suggested.  
"Ok." Kevin retrieved the game mat and spinner and set them out. He hander the spinner to Shadic. "You should do the spinning until your fur dries. Just spin that thing and tell us what it lands on."  
"Alright, who's going first?" Shadic asked.  
"I wanna!" Sheen started jumping up and down, "Me! Pick me!"  
"Yeah, he want's to." Kevin said.  
"Yes!" Sheen steeped up to the mat. Shadic flicked the spinner.  
"Right hand, blue." she called out. Sheen made the move easily, and Shadic spun the spinner again for Kevin. "Left hand, yellow." and so they continued, Shadic calling, Sheen and Kevin moving. Soon enough, both were so twisted and tangled it seemed neither could move anymore. It was Kevin's turn. "Left foot, blue." he stretched and grunted.  
"I can do this." he started slipping, "No I can't!" he fell, causing Sheen to fall on top of him.  
"Sheen is the winner!" Shadic announced.  
"Yeah baby!" Sheen cheered.  
"You just got lucky." Kevin mumbled.  
"No luck, just talent."  
"Oh stop bragging." Nena said from the doorway.  
"Sorry." Sheen blushed.  
"Dinner's ready." she announced. Shadic hadn't noticed how hungry she actually was until she sat at the table. After all, she technically had never eaten or drank anything yet. They began eating in silence. It was Shadic who first spoke.  
"How do you get this stuff to stay on the fork?" she couldn't keep her spaghetti on the fork long enough to eat it and she was becoming frustrated.  
"You gotta twirl it." Sheen told her through a mouthful of noodles.  
"Like this." Nena demonstrated with her own food. Shadic tried yet again. She managed to get a few strands to stay. "You'll get better at it with practice. How is it?"  
"From the little I got to eat so far, it's great." Shadic commented.  
"Yeah mom, your a master cook." Kevin added.  
"What he said." Sheen said before burping loudly.  
"There's no way I'm related to you." Kevin shook his head.  
"What do you say?" Nena asked.  
" 'Scuse me." Sheen said automatically.  
"Sheen burped!" Kimi yelled, flinging noodles everywhere.  
"Kimi, please don't do that." Nena cleaned Kimi with a napkin. She put both of their plates into the sink. Sheen did the same, followed by Kevin. Lastly, Shadic finished.  
"Geez, I'm full." she said.  
"Full? You hardly ate!" Sheen exclaimed.  
"I can't help it, I am really full!"  
"Well, let's start a movie now." Nena stood, "It's eight now, and I don't want you two staying up too late." Kevin and Sheen followed Nena, who carried Kimi, into the living room. Shadic stood just long enough to think, just two more hours Sonic, just two. Then she also entered the living room.  
"Let's watch this one!" Sheen said, "When Crazy Mobians Attack. It's my favorite!"  
"That's a funny one." Kevin commented.  
"Well, put it on." Nena told them, "Kimi, sit still." Kimi was trying to crawl across the couch to Shadic.  
"Puppy." she pointed to Shadic.  
"If she wants to sit by me," Shadic said, "she can."  
"Alright, if your sure." Nena let Kimi crawl towards Shadic. She sat by her side and hugged her.  
"She's a cute kid." Shadic smiled. When the movie started, she couldn't focus on it. She was warm, happy, and well fed. She never knew when she, or Kimi, had fallen asleep. Shadic's head rested on the back of the couch and Kimi was curled up on her lap.  
"Awww, look at those two." Nena said when the movie was finished.  
"Better not move Kimi or she'll start crying." Sheen warned.  
"Your right, I guess I'll let both them sleep down here." Nena said, "Now you two get up to bed. Kevin and Sheen groaned as they started up the stairs.  
" 'Night mom." they said.  
"Good night." Nena turned off all the lights and put a blanket over Kimi and Shadic before going to bed herself. Looking back at them once more she whispered, "Poor Shadic, she's going to hate going back tomorrow." 


	6. A New Life, or Not

Shadic's Escape Chapter 7: A New Life, or Not  
  
Shadic: Ok, the author over there feels lazy, so I'll do this. ^_^ She thanks the people who comments. Trust me, she gets all hyper and excited when she gets a comment...  
  
Me: Hey, GET AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER!  
  
Shadic: Uh, oops, gotta go cya!   
  
Me: *growl* Ok, on with da chapter then!   
  
A NEW LIFE, OR NOT  
  
Outside, a male, blue hedgehog known as Sonic was looking for a spare key to get into the house. He knew that it was kept in a plastic rock with a slot for the key. The trick was finding it. Parting some bushes, he found it. He took the key out and opened the door.  
  
"Anyone can tell that this rock is fake." he said as he tossed it over his shoulder, "Hey, Shadic, where are you?" he called in a loud whisper. Tiptoeing around the house, he eventually found her, still sleeping. Kimi had rolled off of her lap and lay instead next to her. Sonic knelt by Shadic and nudged her. "Hey, rise and shine Shadic. Up-y up-y."  
  
"Huh? Wha?" Shadic opened her eyes and found a pair of bright green eyes looking back at her. She jumped. "Geez! Don't do that!"  
  
"Nice to meet you too." Sonic said with surprise, "Whoa, your a girl!"  
  
"Observant, aren't we? What did you think I was?" Shadic said as she stood and stretched.   
  
"I just thought that you were a guy." Sonic also stood.  
  
"Well, I'm a girl. You wanna yell at someone about it, blame GUN."  
  
"No thanks, I was just saying." Sonic shrugged.  
  
"Doesn't matter, right?"  
  
"Right. C'mon, let's get going."  
  
"Yeah, um, where're you taking me anyways?"  
  
"To my place. It's more like a hotel now." they began walking out the door. The sky was cloud free and the moon and stars let them see clearly. Both of they're eyes seemed to glow like a cats once they were outside.  
  
"Who else lives there?" Shadic asked.  
  
"Well, me of course, Tails, Rouge, and Amy." Sonic made a face as he said her name, "Knuckles hangs there when he's not on Angel Island. Oh, and Shadow too." Shadic froze in her tracks and went pale, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Sh-Shadow is still alive? And-and he's staying with you?" she stampered.  
  
"Yeah," Sonic said slowly, "you know him?"  
  
"Sorta, I was made almost the exact way as him. But, how did he survive? Didn't he fall through the atmosphere?"  
  
"You can get the answer straight from him when we get there. Are you gonna be ok?" Sonic asked. Shadic nodded and they continued on. Shortly, Sonic was so bored that he had begun humming as they walked. "Hey, how fast can you run?" Sonic finally asked.  
  
"As fast as you can." she answered.  
  
"No way! Really?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"So why are we walking?" he revved up, "Come on, let's burn!" he tore off, Shadic followed, keeping the same pace.  
  
"We should have thought of this earlier." Shadic shouted to him through the wind.  
  
"Really! This is the only way to travel!" clearly, Sonic loved the rush of running at supersonic speeds just as much as Shadic did. But neither of them knew that someone hiding in the shadows saw the blue and silver blurs. It smirked and slunk silently back into the darkness. Sonic and Shadic screeched to a halt in front of the house which Sonic lived in less then a tenth of the time it would have taken them walking. C'mon, we can still catch some Z's. Oh boy." he stopped.  
  
"What?" Shadic asked.  
  
"I forgot to tell the gang I was bringing you. Oh well, they won't mind, it's my house anyways. You can sleep in Tails' and my room for now." they went inside and up the stairs then into a long hallway. At the end of the hall was the room shared by Sonic and Tails. Inside were two sleeping bags. Inside the light blue one, a young orange fox, Tails, was sleeping peacefully. Sonic unrolled a purple sleeping bag for Shadic. "Alright, in the morning you'll meet the others. No use in getting them up yet, so goodnight, sleep tight, and so on and so forth." he crawled inside his green sleeping bag head-first and turned around so that his head stuck out.  
  
"Cya in the morning." Shadic said as she put her sleeping bag over herself and rolled into a small ball beneath it.   
  
* * * * *  
  
In the morning, young Tails awoke. As he always did, he went to the sink in the corner of the room and brushed his teeth. Next, he always got Sonic up, but this time, something was different. There was someone else in the room too. Of course, Tails didn't know Shadic yet and began to panic.  
  
"Sonic!" he yelled as he shook his friend, "Sonic, Sonic, Sonic!"  
  
"What? What happened now? Is Amy cooking again?" Sonic shook his head to wake up.  
  
"There's am alien over there!" with all the noise, Shadic woke up also.  
  
"What's with all the yelling?" she asked. Tails screamed and ran out of the room, "What's his problem?"  
  
"Oh, I should have at least told him about you. He'll calm down in awhile, I hope." Sonic laughed. They heard a collision out in the hallway. It seemed that Tails had ran into someone.  
  
"Run! We're all gonna die!" came Tails' frightened voice.  
  
"Tails, what are you talking about? Get off me!" a deeper voice said.  
  
"In Sonic's room, there's an alien!"  
  
"Oh come on, I know Sonic can look scary when he wakes up, but he's not an alien. You've been reading too many comic books again."  
  
"Hey, who you calling scary looking?" Sonic said as he went out the door.  
  
"Were you telling Tails scary stories again last night?"  
  
"No, hey, he always asks for the stories. Where'd he go?"  
  
"I think he's hiding under the table, what's he so afraid of?"  
  
"Um, let's just say that someone else is gonna be staying with us."  
  
"Sonic, who'd you invite over now?"  
  
"Remember yesterday, when I talked to someone online?"  
  
"Yeah, you mean that's-" the two entered the room. Shadic recognized the one who Tails had ran into as Shadow. Again, she went slightly pale, and Shadow had temporally stopped talking when he saw her. "-who you brought?" he finished.  
  
"Yep, Shadow, this is Shadic. Shadic, this is Shadow.  
  
"What do you look so nervous for?" Shadow asked, "You look like you've seen a ghost."  
  
"Y-your supposed to be dead." Shadic said. Shadow looked surprised.  
  
"But, how do you know about that? Who are you?" Shadow asked. Sonic looked at the two of them.  
  
"Ok, you two need to sort some stuff out. I'll go see if I can drag Tails out from under the table." he said, then left.  
  
"How do you know me?" Shadow questioned.  
  
"How can I not know you? I was created based on you, because of you."  
  
"Created? So, then your like me. So why are you afraid?"  
  
"Because I was forced to believe that your my enemy; that I lived only to capture you."  
  
"Capture me?"  
  
"Yeah, but I don't wanna do anything that Sam wants me to do." she growled.  
  
"So, Professor Gerald didn't make you? I thought Project Shadow was the only attempt at artificial life."  
  
"GUN made me, they called it Project Shadow: Beta. They said I'm a more advanced version of you."  
  
"GUN is after me yet again." he shook his head, "When will they learn? They can't capture the Ultiment Lifeform."  
  
"They found a why to control us, but I think it only works at a close range." she held up her arm with the golden band on it, "It's small, but is hurts so much that you with you were dead. Not to mention it traps you inside a cage sort of thing so you can't get away."  
  
"Interesting leash and collar. They've always used pain to their advantage. It's an old concept, but it works. How'd you get away then?"  
  
"Too long of a story. All that I know is that they can't find any of us."  
  
"Now they'll be looking for you, as well as Sonic and me. But the three of us could make a really strong team. What abilities do you have?"  
  
"Everything you can do, plus some, extra surprises. And that's not the best part." she grinned, "Chaos Control!" she warped behind Shadow, "I don't need the Chaos Emeralds."  
  
"What?!" he spun around, "How's that possible?"  
  
"A Super Emerald is used a my blood."  
  
"That's cheating." Shadow murmured.  
  
"If it saves our tails, who cares?"  
  
"That's true." voices could now be heard from downstairs, "Sounds like everyone else is up now. I'm heading downstairs, you coming?"  
  
"Yeah, I suppose it's time I introduced myself. You know, you and I make a completely new species." Shadic and Shadow started downstairs.  
  
"Your right, I've never thought of it that ways. The question is, is that a good thing, or not?"  
  
"I guess that's something we'll have to find out, it's a bit of both. We are stronger, but..." she trailed off.  
  
"Everyone is after us." Shadow finished.  
  
When Shadic and Shadow arrived downstairs, Sonic and a few others were in the living room. Sonic stood, and apparently was telling everyone about Shadic. The small audience stared at her, making her feel out of place. Well guys, this is Shadic." he said to those who were seated. "And Shadic, this is Knuckles, Rouge, Amy, and Tails." he waited for them to talk to one another.  
  
"Um, hi?" Shadic finally said.  
  
"Nice to meet you." Amy said politely.   
  
"Hi." Knuckles and Rouge said.  
  
"Your not an alien are you?" Tails still seemed a bit nervous. Shadic laughed.  
  
"No, I'm sorry that I scared you. I'm just a hedgehog, like Sonic." she paused, "Well...more like Shadow to be correct."  
  
"What do you mean?" Tails asked with interest.  
  
"Let's just say that, certain qualities that we both have set us apart." Shadic answered. Rouge smiled.  
  
"I know what those 'qualities' are." she said. Shadic raised an eyebrow curiously.  
  
"Tell us!" Tails said eagerly. The rest of the group listened.  
  
"Well, does Project Shadow sound familiar?" she said, making sure to glance in Shadow's direction.  
  
"Yes." Tails answered for everyone.  
  
"These two are different varieties of that project, so to say."  
  
"How do you know that?" Shadic asked with fear that Rouge may work for Sam.  
  
"Don't take it personally." Rouge said reassuringly, "I hack government computers for secret info for a living."  
  
"I thought you retired." Knuckles said slyly.  
  
"Once a spy, always a spy." she answered with a shrug. Shadic made a mental not to keep an eye on Rouge. The following silence was broken by a growl from Sonic's stomach.  
  
"Ok, I dunno about you guys, but I'm starving! I say we eat breakfast now." he went into the kitchen, followed by Tails.  
  
"I'm hungry too, now that I think of it." Knuckles replied as he too left.  
  
"A girl's gotta eat." Amy also went to eat, as did Rouge. Shadow sighed.  
  
"I'm not hungry." but he followed anyway.  
  
"Huh, I'm not hungry either, but I should be, that's weird." Shadic said to herself while joining the others. As she entered, Sonic was putting pieces of bacon in the microwave. She noticed that the package on the counter said Not for microwave preparation. Tails and Amy were eating cereal, Rouge was having toast, and Knuckles settled for some tea. Shadow sat at the table with his arms crossed, eating nothing. A loud explosion was heard form the corner where Sonic was trying to cook his bacon.  
  
"Um, oops." he said while opening the microwave door. Black smoke came out.  
  
"Sonic, didn't you ever have Home EC in school?" Amy asked.  
  
"Yeah, and I failed." Sonic answered as he waved the smoke away.  
  
"I told you to read the instructions first." Knuckles teased.  
  
"Hey, it could've happened to anyone!" Sonic tried nibbling on a piece of the black bacon.  
  
"Yeah, anyone who is blue with spikes." Rouge said.  
  
"Oh ha, ha, ha." Sonic said sarcastically. He poured himself sonic orange juice and cereal instead. "Hey Shadic, want some?"  
  
"No, I'm not hungry." she answered.  
  
"Sure you are!" Sonic insisted, pouring her some juice too. "It's only Shadow who eats once a day."  
  
"You can never leave me out of it, can you?" Shadow said.  
  
"Really, I'm not hungry." Shadic said again as Sonic gave her the juice.  
  
"You don't eat it, you drink it, so it doesn't matter." Sonic pointed out. Shadic sighed and took a sip of the orange juice.  
  
"You can't blame either of them, Sonic." Rouge said, "They're designed to live off a small amount of food per day."  
  
"You gotta stop hacking into the government's computers." Sonic said, "You already know more about them then they do!"  
  
"That's not saying much, I don't really know all that much about myself." Shadic said as she put her still full glass on the table.  
  
"So what are we going to do today?" Tails quickly changed the subject.  
  
"I dunno, what do you guys have planned?" Sonic asked.  
  
"I think I'm gonna check on Angel Island today." Knuckles said as he put his cup into the sink.  
  
"Then how about we all go?"  
  
"What? I don't know..."  
  
"Aw come on, what could happen?"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Please?" Tails joined in. Knuckles made a face and sighed.  
  
"Fine, just don't start begging."  
  
"I'll stay here." Rouge said, "I have plans."  
  
"I guess I'll stay too. It's too hard to get up to the Island." Amy said.  
  
"Fine by me," Sonic said, "it'll just me me, Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, and Shadic."  
  
"Yay!" Tails cheered and cleaned up his bowl, "Can we go now?"  
  
"Whenever you guys are ready. I don't see why you getting all excited, I'm just checking on the Emeralds." Knuckles said  
  
"Well who wouldn't want to see the famous Chaos and Master Emeralds?" Shadow said. Knuckles chuckled.  
  
"Whatever you say. Ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah!" Tails said happily.  
  
"You bet." Sonic said.  
  
"Sure." Shadow replied.  
  
"Ok." Shadic felt that there might be something of interest where ever they were going. Once outdoors, Shadic was surprised to find how much warmer it was. Most of the snow had melted and some blades of grass could be see. Then she remembered how far they had walked last night and figured that the climate here was much warmer than back at Nena's house. Tails was grinning.  
  
"Boy, it sure is nice today." he said while looking at the clear, bright blue sky.  
  
"You got that right." Knuckles breathed in the spring air.  
  
"Yeah! I love it when the snow melts." Sonic declared happily, "I can't run as fast i snow."  
  
"And you start pacing when you inside too long." Tails snickered.  
  
"I don't pace!" Sonic yelled.  
  
"Yes you do." Shadow told him. Shadic laughed.  
  
"What's so funny?!" Sonic snapped at her. She took a deep breath to calm herself.  
  
"Nothing at all." she said. The group continued on. Sonic was grumbling to himself.  
  
"Ah Sonic, cheer up." Knuckles playfully punched Sonic's arm, sending him slightly off balance for a moment.  
  
"Can i help it if I have a short attention span?" he asked.  
  
"Who doesn't? So you freak out when your cooped up, big deal." Shadow said.  
  
"Yeah, don't be mad, we're just teasing." Tails said.  
  
"Alright already, I'm over it!" Sonic laughed.  
  
"Hmm, took you long enough." Shadic smirked.  
  
"Is it national Bother Sonic Day? I didn't know."  
  
"We're just teasing." Tails said again.  
  
"Well, tomorrow's Tease Tails Day." Sonic said slyly.  
  
"Huh?" Tails said nervously.  
  
"Got ya." the group laughed, Tails joined in too. Shadic thought that things couldn't get much better. They walked on, laughing and making jokes. Even Shadow was laughing. But unknown to them, their every movement was being watched.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Nearing the top of Angel Island, everyone was climbing. Tails had started out flying, but eventually became tired and also had to climb.  
  
"Why can't you get stairs or something?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Then anyone could get up here whenever they wanted. There's a reason why only echidna's guard the Emeralds."  
  
"Come on Sonic, it's only climbing." Shadow said.  
  
"I've had training sessions harder than this!" Shadic said. She, Shadow, and Knuckles were having the easiest time. Sonic could make it, he just didn't like climbing. Poor Tails was having a bit more trouble.   
  
"Are we there yet?" he asked.  
  
"A few more feet for you." Knuckles was now pulling himself up to lever ground, followed by Shadic and Shadow. Shortly Sonic made it. As soon as Tails got to the top, he sat down a moment to catch his breath.  
  
"Why didn't we just bring the Tornado?" he moaned.  
  
"Because it only seats one, two it someone stands." Shadow reminded him, "And Sonic's the only one crazy enough to stand on top of a moving plane!"  
  
" 'Cause your too chicken to try it." Sonic teased.  
  
"No, because I choose life over death."  
  
"Sound funs to me." Shadic said. Sonic cheered.  
  
"Ha! See, you gotta learn to have fun Shadow. Shadic knows how to have fun, you just never relax."  
  
"Thanks a lot." Shadow murmured in an undertone to Shadic.  
  
"Are we gonna stand here all day? C'mon, let's get a move on!" Knuckles said impatiently. Tails stood and the group started off again, listening to the sounds of birds flying about after the long winter. Upon entering the Emerald chamber, Shadic felt a strange attraction sort of feeling which grew stronger with every step. She paid little attention to it, until it grew very intense, then she paused.  
  
"What's wrong?" Sonic asked her as he and the others also stopped.  
  
"There's something weird about this place, it doesn't feel right." she answered.  
  
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"It feels like, somethings pulling me forward." she explained. Knuckles thought.  
  
"Do you have any part of an Emerald?"  
  
"No, wait, yeah! I have a Super Emerald."  
  
"Where'd you get that?" Knuckles asked suspiciously.  
  
"Let's say it's GUN's bright idea as a blood substitute." Knuckles was puzzled.  
  
"The Emerald's are attracted to each other, right?" Shadow asked Knuckles.  
  
"Right." Knuckles answered slowly.  
  
"Then that's it." Shadow concluded.  
  
"I see what you saying now." Knuckles said, "So, instead of blood, you have a Super Emerald inside you?"  
  
"Yeah, I was told it was melted to let me use Chaos Control whenever I needed."  
  
"Well, that would make sense, you must just be feeling the Emerald's attracting because we're close to the others.  
  
"I don't like it." Shadic said mostly to herself as she and the others continued forward. They entered the room containing the Emeralds. There was a large shrine in the middle of the room.  
  
"You all stay here." Knuckles told them as he climbed the long flight of stairs. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Sonic whispered in Shadic's ear.   
  
"He won't let anyone get close to those things." he said. In awhile, Knuckles returned.  
  
"Everything's ok, their all there." he reported happily. With that the group turned back and left the Emerald chamber. They tool a break at the bottom of Angel Island.  
  
"I'm gonna go explore awhile, ok?" Shadic announced.  
  
"Sure, we'll be here." Sonic responded. She stepped away from them and walked through the woods. After a few minutes, she came to a cliff. Gazing at the spectacular view, she smiled. For once, she was glad to be alive, everything was perfect now. Reluctantly, she started back, knowing that they had better be going. Returning to the base of the Island, the scene she saw was not what she expected. Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails were all unconscious. Each of them had a small, red dart sticking into their backs.  
  
"What the!?" Shadic exclaimed. Standing a short distance from them was a male hedgehog who was dark green in color and had red lower arms and legs, three red ringlets on each quill tip and the end of his tail, and very dark blue eyes. He had a laser aimed at Shadic.  
  
"Don't move, hedgehog." he commanded.  
  
"What did you do to them?" Shadic demanded taking a step forward despite the warning. He shot the ground in front of her, causing her to stop in her tracks. He wasn't joking.  
  
"You should worry more about you own fate instead of theirs." he said coldly.  
  
"Who are you, and what do you want?"  
  
"My name, if it matters, is Soko. And what I want is you."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"Those are my orders."  
  
"Orders from whom?"  
  
"Someone you should remember. A man who calls himself Sam."  
  
"No, I want nothing more to do with him!" Shadic yelled.  
  
"That is not you choice to make. Why don't you make it easier on yourself and come quietly. Just because I'm not supposed to harm you, doesn't mean that I won't. Besides I have you caught already."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Just look at your arm." Soko smiled. Slowly, Shadic examined her left arm. A dark identical to the ones on the others was what she found. She didn't know when, or how, it got there. She pulled it out but it was too late. She was feeling groggy and was becoming disorientated. "See? Anytime now you will be sleeping like a baby." Shadic shook her head to try and clear it. To her the world seemed to be spinning.  
  
"You have not won yet." she growled before falling to the ground, unconscious. 


	7. Back With GUN

Shadic's Escape Chapter 8: Back With GUN  
  
Ok, new chapter! Thankyou to those who read this story, and to those who comment! I have a lot more chapters typed up and ready to go, and I may just put up one every day or every other day. The only reason why I didn't do that before is either A) I forgot, B) I didn't feel like it, or C) I didn't wanna get so many chapters up that I didn't have any left. But, heh, don't gotta worry any more because reason letter C already happened at the SEGA message boards! So, I'll just get caught up then. ^_^  
  
BACK WITH GUN  
When Shadic awoke, she didn't know where she was. She was laying on her stomach on a cold cement floor. She sat up and rubbed her dizzy, aching head. She found that something held her arms back. Blinking several times, she found that she was in a room similar to a prison cell. What limited her movement were metal chains. On the other side of the bars locking her in, Soko and Sam were talking in low whispers. She couldn't understand what they were saying. They finally saw that she was watching them.  
"So, it finally awakens." Sam said in a mocking tome. Shadic pulled on her chains. The only thought in her head was to hurt, & if possible, kill him.  
"I'm not an 'it'!" she screamed.  
"Then what do you think you are?" he teased.  
"I'm a hedgehog." she growled.  
"Your nothing but a science experiment."  
"That doesn't matter! I still have my own life!"  
"You are meant to follow my commands, nothing more."  
"I don't care what you say, I will never do your evil work."  
"You will, that is, if you want your little friends to live." Soko joined in. Shadic narrowed her eyes angerly.  
"Where are they?" she asked slowly and clearly.  
"All you need to know is that they are alive, for the moment." Sam smirked, "And whether or not they stay that way depends on you."  
"Leave them alone!" Shadic yelled with even more anger.  
"You choose their fate." he said simply.  
"What will happen to them?"  
"If you remain here, they shall merely stay in captivity. If you run, you'll be recaptured, and they will pay, with their lives."  
"Your crazy!" Shadic strained harder against the chains. Sam paid no attention and instead turned to Soko.  
"I have a meeting I must attend to. You will guard this cell." he turned his gaze on Shadic, who glared back with still rising anger, though he was still speaking to Soko, "You will watch it make sure no escape is possible."  
"Yes sir." Soko answered. Sam turned and left. Shadic's fists were shaking with anger. Soko was just leaning against the wall, staring at her.  
"What are you looking at?" Shadic snapped at him.  
"Your the first I've ever seen to stand up to him." he answered softly. It was strange, his voice wasn't as cold as it was when he spoke to Sam, or when he confronted her.  
"It didn't do me any good!" she snarled, "And stop staring at me like that already! Why are you doing that?"  
"I have never thought of anyone or thing as pretty, or cute. I admit that for the first time, I do." he said. Shadic was startled for a second, but it didn't last long. She sat on the floor and leaned her back against the wall.  
"Your supposed to guard me, not bore me with stupid lies and stories." she said. Soko came closer to the bars.  
"I'm not lying, I greatly admire you, Shadic. Your brave in danger, you care deeply for you friends... and, you are beautiful." he told her. Shadic rolled her eyes.  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever Romeo. Now, if you don't mind, I've got my whole life left to spend chained up and staring at that wall." though she didn't show, she was shocked by what Soko said. Just awhile ago, he was threatening to shoot her, but now, he's saying that he likes her? Shadic concluded that it was an act, at least, that's what she hoped.  
"I'm sorry this has to happen." Soko said sadly, "No one, especially you, deserves this."  
"Why don't you go bother someone else for awhile?"  
"Because I can't, and if I could, I still wouldn't."  
"You had just better hope I don't find a way out, because if I do, I swear I'll strangle you." Shadic threatened, "I have enough to worry about as it is, and I don't need you to add to it."  
"All right, if silence is what you want, I'll give that to you." Soko sat by the wall opposite to her. Shadic wondered if she would be able to find a way to get out, and be able to free Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails. Even if she used Chaos Control, Sam would probably get to them before she could find them. She wondered where they were now, and how they were reacting to waking up in a cell. She hoped that at least they would stay safe, maybe even escape. Everything seemed pointless, she could easily escape, and Sam knew it. That's why he threw the others into this. It was defiantly a bad situation. Maybe, sometime at night if she could find a way out of her cell, she could at least find them. Then, together, they could form some kind of a plan. But that was unlikely, if she could get out of the chains holding her still, she would still need to have the card-key to open the cell door. She sighed sadly. With her legs drawn up against her chest, she laid her head on her knees. One, warm tear slid down her cheek. Everything had just been so perfect, why did it all go wrong? Then she thought of Nena. She had probably been fired for letting her get away. Shadic had cause so much trouble, for so many people. If it wasn't for her, Nena would still have a job, and Sonic and his friends would be safe. It isn't fair, she thought angerly as her fists closed even tighter, It just isn't fair! I didn't do a thing to them, why do I have to be treated like this?! But what can I do? I guess the only thing that I can do is... give up. * * * * *  
Perhaps two hours later, the creaking of a door was heard. Shadic lifted her head to see Sam, along with two guards standing in front of her cell. Each guard had a metal pole with a loop of rope at the end of it. Sam did the last thing Shadic had expected: he opened the door. Shadic stood and pulled against her chains, desperate for revenge on him.  
"What do you want?" she growled.  
"Our meeting requires you to be present." he answered.  
"Well, maybe I don't wanna go!"  
"Well, maybe I don't care what you want. And maybe I knew you wouldn't willingly come. And maybe these guards have those control sticks for a reason."  
"You are so pathetic! You chain me to a wall in a locked cell while I'm unconscious. You threaten to hurt my friends if I escape. And your making other people drag me to some stupid meeting. Face it, your afraid of me!"  
"Silence! I'm guaranteeing that you have no hope of getting away again!"  
"Why even keep me alive? You have Sonic and Shadow, that's all you wanted me for. Just kill me already!"  
"I probably should, but you still may be of some use. But, we're getting off-topic, there are more important things at hand. Guards, make sure it gets upstairs." he turned. Before he was beyond hearing range Shadic shouted at him.  
"Stop calling me an it!" as the two guards attempted to slip the roped ends of their poles around her, she made dead sure to give them a hard time. But since her movement was already limited, she couldn't do much, and therefore was stuck. She could move neither left nor right, because the poles held her directly in the middle. The fact that her chains had been removed was a nice change, but her arms were pinned to her sides so she couldn't enjoy it anyway. As the two tried to pull her forward, she pulled them back. It was going to be a matter of who tired first. One of the guards turned to Soko.  
"You, don't just sit there, help us!" he ordered him. Shadic couldn't hold all three of them back, but that didn't stop her from trying.  
"Your just making this harder on yourself." the second man said.  
"Well, I'm not gonna make it any easier for you!" she snapped back.  
"Shadic, please, they won't be as cruel if you would just cooperate." Soko said desperately.  
"Who asked you?" she growled.  
"Please, I don't want you to get hurt." he said sadly.  
"Listen Lover Boy, you like me, I don't like you, got it? I don't care what you say, just leave me alone!" she yelled.  
"I'm trying to help you." Soko's voice started to get louder, but not nearly as loud as Shadic's.  
"I don't want any help!"  
"Both of you, shut up!" on of the men said. They had reached a large auditorium. It seemed every single person in the building was there. Shadic was dragged up to the stage in front. Sam was there. She immediately switched from pulling backward to trying to run forward. It was all she wanted at the moment to kill that man. The man who ruined everything. Many in the crowd were gasping at her. For the majority of them, this was the first time they saw her. She glared at Sam as she continued to try and move forwards.  
"Enough!" Sam had in his hand a remote, which Shadic recognized as the one that activated that blasted bracelet on her rist. Knowing what was coming, she filled with dread. Smartly, the two guards and Soko had dropped the poles they held before Sam had pressed the button. Shadic screamed and fell to her knees. How was it possible that that pain seemed far more worse than before? By the time the sphere had disappeared, she was left on the floor in a trembling heap. The two men pulled her back into a standing position, where she stayed. She was a little shaky and was breathing hard. She lowered her head, stared at the floor, and cursed under her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Soko, watching her with worry. There was an uneasy silence before Sam spoke to the crowd, all of whom were watching Shadic with wide eyes. "Ladies and gentlemen, as you can obviously see, there have been some, difficulties, with the creature we made. We know it is most vulnerable against electricity, hence the device you have just witnessed. But, it is essential that we find a way to truly tame it. You are here to discuss how we should go about this." the room filled with chatter. Sam also went into the crowd, most likely to listen to the suggestions. Shadic looked up, and to her amazement, found Sonic and the others in the crowd too. Though they too were surrounded by guards, they seemed to be okay. Sonic winked encouragingly at her as if to say, Hey, don't worry, we'll find a way outta this. She smiled, her spirits higher now that she knew they were safe.  
"What are you smiling about?" one of the guards holding her asked rudely.  
"I was just thinking about how funny if would be if I did this." she kicked him in the knee, hard. He yelled in pain, and she just smiled innocently.  
"You little brat!" he moved to throw a punch at her. She simply moved a little to the side and he fell off the stage.  
"Yep, that made me feel a whole lot better." she called down to the dizzy man. Sonic gave her a thumbs up. She grinned. "You better go help your partner." she told the other guard, "Don't worry, you still have Lover Boy over there to watch me." she nodded to Soko. She just wanted these two men to leave, she could move more with one of them gone, and she would feel practically free if the other left too. Plus, she honestly didn't plan on going anywhere, there were too many people around that could see her. The man hesitated, but decided to cheek to make sure his partner was all right. He call Soko over.  
"Make sure she doesn't go anywhere, got it?" he said.  
"Got it." Soko answered. When the man left, Soko spoke to Shadic. "If you keep this up you'll be in a lot of trouble."  
"So?" she said, "Tormenting guards is the only fun thing to do around here." they both laughed a little.  
"You don't seem to get it, your not supposed to have fun."  
"Yeah, well, this morning, Sonic wasn't supposed to put bacon in the microwave. He still did and nothing bad happened." she said, "Except he needs a new microwave now..."she added. Soko gave her a strange look.  
"What's bacon have to do with this?" he asked. Shadic sighed.  
"I mean, just because someone says you shouldn't do something, doesn't mean you should always listen. That's the fun in life."  
"Whatever you say." Soko said as he smiled. He wasn't willing to argue. Sam come back on the stage. He silenced the crowd.  
"So it is decided." he said. Neither Shadic or Soko knew what he was talking about. "You will remain in isolation." he told Shadic, "One meal per day." he now faced Soko, "You will be it's guard. You will not leave it's cell. Only you and I have permission to it. Don't disappoint me."  
"You can count on me, sir." Soko responded automatically.  
"Good. Now take that, thing, away." Sam said, indicating Shadic. She growled as the guards came back and guided her away. Though she didn't fight it since she was leaving Sam behind. Just before going out of sight, she stuck her tongue out at him. She defiantly had her normal attitude back. * * * * *  
Back in her cell, Shadic was extremely bored and couldn't sit still.  
"There's gotta be something I can do!" she moaned.  
"Your not exactly in a hotel." Soko reminded her.  
"I know, but this is just... boring!" she sat with her head resting on her hand. Finding a small rock, she scraped it back and forth on the floor.  
"Well, that's what isolation is like." Soko said. Shadic sighed.  
"But the only thing I can do is talk to you! And what do I need these for?" she said unhappily, pulling uselessly on her chains as they had been put back on her right after coming back into the cell.  
"Just a precaution."  
"It's not a very good one, I should have thought of this long ago. Chaos Control!" she warped herself out of the chains, but remained in the cell. Soko sprang to his feet.  
"If Sam sees that you got out of those he'll be furious!"  
"So? I'm not afraid of him. Besides, I'm not going anywhere." Shadic said as she rubbed her wrists, where the chains had started cutting into her skin.  
"You just keep pushing your luck."  
"I said I wasn't going anywhere." she repeated as she stretched. Soko groaned.  
"All right, fine, just promise me you won't do anything else your not supposed to. Your really getting on Sam's bad side, and I don't know how long he'll take it."  
"You mean he actually has a good side? You could've fooled me." she folded her arms in front of her.  
"Put it this way, he's very good at hiding it." both of them laughed. Soko might be annoying, Shadic thought to herself, but maybe he isn't all that bad. Her stomach growled.  
"Hey, do you guys believe in eating around here?"  
"Yeah, there's a lady who goes around giving everyone dinner. The food isn't all that great though..."  
"Well, when is this lady coming? I haven't eaten since yesterday."  
"She should be getting here soon." Soko answered after glancing at a clock that looked like it would fall off the wall any minute. Shadic moaned.  
"She'd better hurry." Shadic walked along the edge of her cell to get her mind off of food. She must have walked the circle at least twenty times before an elderly woman appeared with a cart loaded with many bowls. She looked like one of the few kind people at GUN.  
"Hello dears." she said as she found two bowls that had what looked like a thin soup in them, "Tonight, you get to have my special recipe." she gave Soko his bowl, "Enjoy!" next, she handed Shadic her soup through the bars. The woman looked carefully at her over the top of her glasses. "Ah, your the one I saw today. Quite a ruckus you've been making lately, you little fireball!" she chuckled, "But I for one don't believe in the, isolation thing. No one should be cut off from their friends... and I'm very good at keeping secrets." she winked and handed Shadic a folded piece of paper, "Your friends asked me to give that to you. You'll find a pen inside that note, so is you want to tell them something I'll gladly take it to them tomorrow. Now, I must be off. Plenty of stops left for me." she left, pushing her cart in front of her.  
"I always did like her." Soko stated. He took a bite of his soup and made a face, "But never liked her cooking." he finished. Shadic desperately wanted to read the note the woman gave her, but she was starving. So she decided to read it after eating. She only had a little soup, Sam had probably made sure of that. She ate quickly, despite the terrible taste.  
"I agree," she said after finishing, "Nice person; awful cool. What was that made of? Tar?  
"I don't even want to know."  
"That's not reassuring." Shadic went to a corner farther from Soko to read the note. As she unfolded it, sure enough, a miniature pen fell out. She wondered where they found it. The note was divided into four parts. Each of them had written something. Their handwriting wasn't the neatest she had seen, but she could still read it:  
  
Hey Shadic,  
Great job with knocking that guard off the stage. Couldn't have done it better myself. Stay cool, I've gotten outta here before, and I'm gonna make sure we can all get out this time too. Sonic  
  
Hi Shadic,  
If you want something fun to do, ask the guards a bunch of questions. After awhile they start to go nuts. I do that all the time. It works on anyone, trust me. Tails  
  
Yo,  
Awesome work on the stage today, you show'em who's boss. We're working on a plan to get outta here. We'll tell ya when we find a good one. So far all we thought of was duds. Most were Sonic's ideas. Knux  
  
Shadic,  
Stay strong. Give them trouble. But not so much that they cryogenically freeze you like they did to me. Shadow  
  
Shadic smiled. She could have told who wrote what even without reading the signatures. So, she thought, they are already thinking about how to escape. She twirled the pen like a baton as she thought of how to reply. Finally, she began to write:  
  
Hello guys,  
Those guards had it coming to them. Thanks for that idea, Tails. I'll keep that in mind the next time I start pacing. See Sonic? Your not the only one with a short attention span. I was hoping that you guys would start thinking of an escape plan. I can't do anything without risking your safety. I'm definitely not being cooperative with these losers. I think that they are trying to tame me. They're wasting their time! So far they've tried chaining me to a wall, but I got out of the stupid chains. I'm in isolation and an extremely annoying guy is my guard. What's worse is that he likes me. I get a little bit a food, I mean tar, once a day. And, yet again, I've been electrocuted. What a great day... but at least I've heard no word of being cryogenically frozen. Good luck on thinking of a plan. Shadic  
  
She read over what she wrote. Then, after folding the paper back up, she set it on the floor. Soko was still sitting, just watching her. "Why have you been so quiet?"  
"I figured that you would want to read you letter in peace." he answered, "Was I right?"  
"Yeah, um, thanks." Shadic responded strangely. There was a few moments of silence. "Hey, what time is it? I can't see the clock from in here."  
"Ten o' clock." he answered.  
"Wow, it's that late? Well, I'm going to sleep now. I feel a bit sick. Probably from that junk that you call food. So, good night."  
"Sweet dreams." Soko said. Shadic rolled her eyes. What was it with this guy? Didn't he get it that she didn't like him? She laid down on the far side of her cell. After making herself as comfortable as she was going to get on the cold, hard floor, she fell into an uneasy sleep. 


	8. Illness

Shadic's Escape Chapter 9: Illness  
  
Bet'cha no one expected another chapter this soon!  
  
Shadic: How do you know if anyone even read the last one? There weren't any comments remember?  
  
True, but not all people leave comments.  
  
Shadic: Well they should.  
  
That's not the point, now be nice. On with the chapter that I hope someone reads! Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving everyone! ^_^  
  
ILLNESS  
Both Shadic and Soko had expected Shadic's upset stomach from the night before to have gone away by morning. When Soko had awoken, he thought she was sleeping peacefully. But on a closer look, he found that instead of getting better, she got much, much worse. Her teeth were gritted, hands balled into tight fists, and her eyes were squeezed shut as if she were in intense pain. She was breathing harder than was normal and her cheeks were tinged red with fever.  
"Shadic? Are you okay?" Soko asked as he come up to the bars. She moaned weakly and opened her eyes. They were duller in color and were watering a little. Soko quickly unlocked the door and knelt beside her. He put his hand over her fist. She was very warm and had again shut her eyes tightly. "Try and relax, you'll be okay." Soko said softly. He forced himself to believe his words too. He gently ran his hand through her fur, trying to calm her down.  
"Whatever that woman gave me last night was not food." Shadic gasped. She was trying to get up; her body shook violently as she did so. She made it half-way until she collapsed.  
"I've got to get you some help, but, I can't just leave you here." Soko whispered.  
"Get Sonic."  
"But-"  
"Please!" Shadic cried helplessly. Soko hesitated, then nodded.  
"Okay, he can get you out. Just, take it easy. I'll hurry back. With Sonic." Soko dashed out into the hall, leaving Shadic behind. It was still very early and no one else had arrived yet, so luckily he didn't meet anyone in the halls. He almost passed the last set of stairs. He changed directions so quickly that he skidded across the floor. At last he reached the cell that held Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow. All four of them were still sleeping. Sonic was all sprawled out, Tails was curled up like a cat, Knuckles was lying on his side, and Shadow had his back propped up against the wall. Soko opened the door, quickly guessed that the blue hedgehog was Sonic, and shook him hard to wake him. "I know that your who I'm looking for, now get up!"  
"Huh, wha? Who're you?" Sonic mumbled sleepily.  
"I'm Soko, your Sonic, right?"  
"Yeah... can I go back to sleep now?" Sonic rolled over so that his back was to Soko.  
"No! Get up! You have to get Shadic away from here, now!"  
"Can't I do it later? We've got all day."  
"No we don't!" Soko pulled Sonic up. The others were beginning to wake up, because Soko's yells had disturbed their sleep.  
"Why? What happened?" Knuckles asked.  
"Follow me, I'll explain on the way." Soko led them back the way he had came.  
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Tails asked.  
"Shadic got really sick or something. She can't stay here in her condition. I want you to get her out of here." they ran through the still- deserted hall. Finally, the came to Shadic's cell. She was still wincing in pain, it was a sad sight to see. Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails were stunned; but Shadow reacted immediately, with anger. Shadow picked Soko up and pinned him against the wall with one hand to his throat.  
"What did you do to her?" he demanded. Soko squirmed to free himself, but couldn't.  
"I didn't do anything!" he cried. Soko looked at Shadow with fear.  
"Stop it." Shadic said quietly. They all turned to her direction. She was trying to force herself to stand. But she had no strength left and therefore fell. Sonic caught her before she hit the floor. She was trying to do too much and her ill body couldn't handle it. "Soko is telling the truth." she managed to say in a whisper. Slowly, Shadow let Soko down.  
"This is terrible!" Tails said.  
"Can you help her?" Soko asked.  
"Of course we can! Escaping should be a piece of cake." Sonic reassured him. Tails shook his head.  
"One problem. When all the living guards are gone, they have mechanical security." he said.  
"Like what?" Knuckles said, "We didn't see anything on the way here."  
"That's because we're not in the main sector. There and outside is where all the security cameras and robots are."  
"How do you know all this?" Shadow asked Tails suspiciously. Tails blushed.  
"Rouge taught me how to hack into GUN's main computer."  
"I knew she was a bad influence." Knuckles grumbled.  
"We can still get past all the security, how hard could it be?" Sonic said, "We've dealt with their robots before, they usually end up destroying themselves."  
"They don't do that anymore, new ones were designed." Soko told them.  
"They're still no match for us." Shadow said confidently.  
"Yeah, have you forgotten who your talking to? Tails has better aim then they do!" Sonic said jokingly.  
"Hey!" Tails exclaimed.  
"Here's the plan." Sonic started, "We get past the cameras. Once we're outside, Tails will fly up ahead and warn us if any 'bots come. We turn them into scrap metal and get Shadic back home. Don't you know how to make antidotes and stuff Knuckles?"  
"I have to know what made her sick." Knuckles looked at Soko.  
"I don't know what it was." Soko responded.  
"Let's focus on getting out first." Shadow said.  
"We should leave now, before anyone comes." Soko warned.  
"I'll carry her." Knuckles offered, "That way Sonic and Shadow can run distraction."  
"What can I do?" Soko asked.  
"Your coming?" Shadow asked him with a surprised look. Soko nodded.  
"You know where all the cameras and other security is, right?" Tails asked.  
"Yes." he answered.  
"And you know the way through the building?" Knuckles questioned. Again, Soko nodded.  
"Then you can warn us when we come near the security and lead us until we get outside." Shadow said.  
"So, let's get this rescue mission started!" Sonic said excitedly. He handed Shadic to Knuckles. She was still very warm to the touch.  
"Will she be okay?" Soko asked worriedly. At first Knuckles was silent, then he sighed.  
"Maybe, if we hurry." he answered.  
"If you betray us, I'll make you wish you were never born." Shadow warned Soko. He gulped nervously.  
"Follow me." he said. Silently, the group made it upstairs with no sign of any danger. Soko stopped them before they entered a new corridor. He peeked out from behind the wall. "There are cameras all over this hall." he told them.  
"Does anything happen if those things see us?" Sonic asked.  
"They have automated lasers on top that fire if anything moves. They won't kill you, but it hurts. Get hit enough times, and you might go unconscious for awhile."  
"Oh, that's real friendly." Sonic said sarcastically, "How do you turn them off?"  
"To to that, you need to know the password, and I don't. We'll just have to run the rest of the way and hope for the best."  
"This'll be easy!"  
"Knuckles and Shadic should go first." Tails suggested, "Then the rest of us can follow."  
"All right, I'll go on the count of three." Knuckles closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Three!" he ran as he could toward the doors that would take them outside. After crossing paths with the cameras, bright red beams shot out from miniature laser guns placed on top of the camera. Knowing that the front doors would be locked, Knuckles adjusted the direction of his body and threw all his weight into them, causing them to break open. Both were now safely out of range of the still firing lasers."Yeah!" he cheered.  
"Way to go Knux!" Sonic called to him, "How's Shadic doing?"  
"No better, no worse."  
"Come on Tails, it's our turn." before Tails could agree or argue, Sonic grabbed his arm and ran. Both made it across quickly and safely.  
"Sonic! Can't you give me a little more notice before you do that?" Tails said.  
"I did! Or would you rather be a moving target?"  
"Oh, right, never mind."  
"Hey Shadow, your next." Sonic called. Shadow ran quickly past all the lasers just as Sonic had done.  
"This is too easy." he said.  
"Yeah, for you two. For anyone else who doesn't have supersonic speed, it's a lot tougher!" Knuckles reminded them. Sonic simply grinned.  
"Soko, you last." Shadow told him. Soko fidgeted. He was going to have the hardest time since the lasers had already started and he wasn't that fast.  
"Okay... I'm coming... if I have too." he ran forward and stayed against one wall, because he couldn't get hit from the lasers above him if he was directly under them. He ducked to avoid getting shot from the ones opposite him, and kept his eyes fixed on each camera. One blast grazed his left should just before he got out the doors. He rubbed the spot with his right hand, it stung badly.  
"You okay?" Sonic asked.  
"I'll be fine, but we have other things to worry about." Soko answered.  
"Are there any streams around here?" Knuckles asked. He was kneeling on the ground next to Shadic. "Cold water might help bring her fever down."  
"There's one nearby in the woods. We could hid there for awhile."  
Uh, guys?" Tails called. No one had noticed that he had took off into the air. "Security 'bot heading this way!" he landed, "What are we gonna do?"  
"Me and Sonic will keep it busy while you guys get to that stream." Shadow said. The robot came into view and stopped in front of them. The model name could be seen clearly written on the side: Flying Dog. "What? That's an old model, and it has to be operated by someone. I thought everyone left at night!"  
"I guess it's being remote piloted by someone, somewhere." Soko thought out loud.  
"Halt!" a human voice said from the speakers, "You are under arrest for kidnap of military property." it said. Sonic stuck his tongue out at the camera with let the pilot see.  
"You want me? Gotta catch me first!" he ran past it, drawing the robot's attention away from Knuckles, Tails, and Soko, who were sneaking into the woods with Shadic. Shadow ran at the robot's other side.  
"Hey you bucket of bolts, what's the matter? We too fast you you?" he taunted. The two hedgehog's weren't going nearly as fast as they could, just fast enough to stay ahead of the robot which was now chasing them.  
"Stay where you are, this is your last warning!" the voice said. Sonic turned so that he was running backwards. It was a trick he had mastered after years of practice.  
"What are you gonna do? Tell our mommies?" he asked, "I'm not afraid of you. Bring it on!" he skidded to a halt.  
"Sonic! What the heck do you think your doing?!" Shadow yelled, stopping a few yards away.  
"C'mon, I'm waiting!" Sonic continued, ignoring Shadow. A red tracking beam rested dead center on Sonic, and the laser could be heard charging up.  
"Are you crazy?!" Shadow yelled again. Sonic was tapping his foot and whistling as if he were bored.  
"Me? Crazy?" he said before the powerful, bright white laser was released. A wave of heat and dust engulfed the area.  
"Sonic!" Shadow cried. He covered his eyes to shield them from the dust. "No! You can't be... gone." it was several minutes later before the dust began to lift. Shadow could dimly see the outline of the robot. He bowed his head in silent sadness over the loss of Sonic. "No... this can't be true." he whispered.  
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with lasers? You might hurt someone!" the dust cleared completely to reveal that Sonic was standing safely on top of the robot. He was looking into the camera in an upside- down position.  
"Your alive!" Shadow said happily. Sonic jumped and spun through the weak spot of the robot, thus destroying it.  
"You thought I was dead! Do you really think I'm dumb enough to do something like that without a plan?" Sonic was laughing like crazy.  
"That was a dangerous more, you lucky you weren't killed." Shadow said seriously. Sonic shrugged, still laughing. * * * * *  
By the time the group had regathered at at the stream, the sun had risen. They knew they had to get Shadic back to Sonic's home to see if there was anything they could do to help her as soon as they could. But because of her severe condition they would need to stop frequently. Tails had found a small bit of cloth on the forest floor. They had soaked it in the cool water and placed it on Shadic's forehead, in hopes of reducing her fever. But another problem had arisen.  
"Does anyone even know where we are and how we get back home?" Sonic asked.  
"I thought you knew." Tails said with a hint of panic in his voice. Sonic shook his head.  
"Great, so now we're lost." Knuckles sighed.  
"We can't be too far off." Shadow said, "See those mountains in the distance? You could see them from Sonic's front yard. So we just have to head that way."  
"That shouldn't take too long." Sonic said with relief.  
"I bet Amy and Rouge are worried." Tails stated.  
"What's your point?" Knuckles asked. Tails shrugged. Silence followed, the only sound was the gurgling water and Shadic's raspy breathing.  
"I have an idea." Tails spoke, "Instead of walking, why doesn't Sonic or Shadow just use Chaos Control with Shadic. Then we would have more time to cure her."  
"I don't think that'll work." Knuckles said solemly.  
"Why not?"  
"When someone uses Chaos Control, only that person with be transported, unless they were in their Super Forms. But we don't have all the Emeralds with us.  
"But what if she can activate Chaos Control?" Sonic said, "One of us could go and make sure she made it back okay."  
"She can use it, I've seen her." Shadow said, "But that could be too much of a strain on her. It could do more damage that good."  
"But we don't know that it could hurt her." Sonic continued, "We might take too long it we walk. With Chaos Control we would get there instantly."  
"I don't know, Knuckles, what do you think?"  
"It's risky." Knuckles answered slowly, "I think that Shadic should be the one to decide, not us."  
"He's right." Sonic approached Shadic. She had been watching them. Sonic knelt down beside her, and she looked up with her dim, watery eyes. "Well, I guess you know our plan. The choice is up to you."  
"I want-to use Chaos Control." she stuttered. Sonic nodded and patted her arm.  
"All right. Don't worry, we'll get you back to normal before you know it. And as soon as you better, I'll teach you how to stay on the wing of Tails' plane." he promised. He looked over his shoulder at Shadow. "Can you make sure that these guys get back to?"  
"Yes, but I thought of another problem." Shadow said.  
"Always looking on the bright side, aren't you?" Sonic said sarcastically.  
"Shut up, this is serious. Your gonna need an Emerald too, you know. Do we even have one with us?"  
"I have my fake Emerald." Tails announced. He had once made an artificial Chaos Emerald. It was so much like a true Emerald that even a machine could not tell it was fake. The only difference was that it was weaker that a real one, and wasn't very good for going Super, though it would work for a short time. The fake Emerald somehow could be used for Chaos Control. Tails always carried it with him in case it was needed. He handed the bright yellow gem to Sonic.  
"What am I supposed to do after we get there? It'll take awhile for you guys to walk home." Sonic said.  
"Just wait for us, we'll go as fast as we can. Maybe she could get some rest." Knuckles answered.  
"Hey, where'd Soko go?" Tails asked.  
"Soko? I forgot about him. Last time I saw him, he was right here with us."  
"Maybe he went up the stream." Sonic suggested.  
"I'll go look for him." Shadow offered, "You better go now, we'll catch up in awhile." he helped Sonic get Shadic into a standing position. She shook while standing. Sonic had one arm around her so she wouldn't collapse, and held the Emerald in his other hand.  
"Ready?" Sonic asked her. She nodded slightly. "Chaos Control!" both said in unison. A bright green flash surrounded them, and with a whoosh, they vanished.  
"I hope they made it okay." Knuckles murmured.  
"So do I." Tails agreed.  
"I'm going to look for Soko now. Stay here." Shadow told them. He hurried off into the thick tangle of grass, leaves, and fallen trees. * * * * *  
Far from the rest of the group, Sonic and Shadic arrived home in another bright green flash.  
"Phew, we made it." Sonic said with a whistle. Shadic was now limp in his arms. "Whoa, hey, are you okay?"  
"So... weak..."she barely whispered. Then she fell very silent and still. Too silent and still for Sonic's comfort.  
"Oh no, no, no, that can't be good!" he rushed into the house. Amy and Rouge were sitting in the living room.  
"There you are! Where have-" Amy stopped mid-sentence, "What happened to her?" she asked instead. Sonic laid Shadic on the couch.  
"Long story, short version: she got really sick from something. The other guys'll be here soon. Knuckles is gonna try and make an antidote. 'Til then, we gotta try and make her comfortable." Sonic explained.  
"How'd she get so worn out?" Rouge asked worriedly.  
"We used Chaos Control to get here, that must have really taken it outta her."  
"You idiots! That could have finished her off!" Rouge cried. She put her hand on Shadic's forehead. "She's burning up. Amy, could you go get some ice?" she asked. Amy dashed into the kitchen and came back with several ice cubes wrapped in a small towel. She gave it to Rouge, who placed it on Shadic's head. Shadic let out a small whimper and to herself though, This isn't fair play. I'll get my revenge on you, Sam. Even if it's the last thing I do. * * * * * After nearly twenty minutes of walking upstream, Shadow came to an area clear of forest debris. Near the waters edge sat Soko. He had his legs drawn up against him and was staring at the ground.  
"Hey Soko, c'mon, we have to go." Shadow said while approaching him.  
"I could have prevented this." Soko said in a daze, "But, because I didn't do anything, she is going to die. And it's my fault."  
"What are you blabbing about?" Shadow asked with agitation.  
"She shouldn't have to die! It's not fair!" Soko cried.  
"Come on, we have to get back!" Shadow's voice rose. Soko stood suddenly.  
"You don't even care!" he shouted.  
"Yeah, I do, but we really don't have time for this!"  
"No you don't! You care nothing about life and death, because you don't know what it's like! You shouldn't even be here, you not even truly alive! Why don't you just go back into cryogenic sleep for another fifty years? It would do all of us some good!"  
"If you don't shut up, I'll show you what death feels like." Shadow warned. Soko suddenly broke into tears.  
"I just don't want her to die. For once in my life, I found someone who I really care about. All I want now if for her to be okay. And I wish this never happened!" Soko said through his tears.  
"Listen, if we get back fast enough, she has a good chance of making it. If we sit here and cry about things that haven't even happened yet, she's as good as dead. She'll stay strong, and as long as we don't give up, everything will be fine."  
"You say that, but you don't know if it's true."  
"I've have it with your little attitude. I suggest that you do what I say, when I say it. You don't want me as your enemy. If you care about Shadic half as much as your say you do, come back with us to find her a cure. But I'm not going to let you go back to GUN, you could betray us." with that said, Shadow started back towards the group. He knew Soko would follow. A strange thought came to Shadow, Before, Soko made me think that he merely liked Shadic, as a close friend. But he seems to actually love her. The same way that I loved Maria. He looked over his shoulder. Soko was walking sulkily as few yards behind him. The walk back downstream seemed shorter than the walk up. Shortly, they reached the spot were Tails and Knuckles were waiting.  
"What's wrong with him?" Tails asked in a whisper to Shadow.  
"Never mind him." Shadow whispered back.  
"How long do you think it will take us to get back?" Knuckles asked, changing the subject.  
"Probably a few hours."  
"Where's Sonic and Shadic?" Soko asked.  
"They already left." Knuckles answered.  
"We should get going now too." Tails said. The group agreed. They started to follow the creek downstream, towards the mountains. Shadow led them, Knuckles and Tails followed close by, and Soko was last, keeping some distance between him and the others. * * * * *  
Sonic, Amy, and Rouge had decided it would be best to let Shadic try and get some sleep. They had brought her to Amy's and Rouge's bedroom because it was the only bedroom which actually had beds. While they waited for Tails, Knuckles, Soko, and Shadow to return, the three of them sat at the kitchen table. Sonic was explaining what had happened since they had left the day before.  
"We were taking a break at the bottom of Angel Island, and Shadic went off to explore. Tails, Knux, Shadow, and me were just sitting around talking. Last thing I remember was feeling a prick then I just sorta fell asleep. When we all woke up, we were in one of GUN's cell's. Later, I guess there was some important meeting and all the employee's had to go. Since there wouldn't be any guards to watch us, we had to go too. There was this guy there who acted all important and he was blabbing about something like, problems with some project that the had to fix. I wasn't paying too much attention because it was really boring. Then he left for awhile and came back with Shadic. She wasn't sick then, but man was she mad! It took three guards and two poles to bring her on the stage. I think she was trying to attack the guy who was talking. He did something and a load of electricity came from nowhere and electrocuted Shadic. The guy talked some more, then went off-stage. Shadic knocked one of the guards off the stage too, that was cool. Then the boring guy came back and said that Shadic was supposed to get isolation and basically no food. Then the guards took her away, that was the last time we saw her 'til this morning. One of the guards named Soko came to let us outta our cell and told us Shadic was sick. I think Soko is on our side though, and he'll be coming with the others. We think that someone somehow poisoned Shadic."  
"That's just plain mean!" Amy exclaimed.  
"It doesn't make any sense at all." Rouge murmured.  
"What doesn't make sense about it?" Sonic asked, "It's pretty easy for me to picture GUN locking people up then poisoning them."  
"I mean, it took millions of dollars and a lot of years of research to create Shadic. She's their ultimate weapon. Do you really think that they would want to waste all those years of work by killing her? Even GUN isn't that stupid."  
"But, who else could have done it?" Amy asked. Rouge thought for a moment.  
"Maybe it was this Soko you mentioned."  
"Soko? No way, he wouldn't do that. He's the one that wanted us to get her out. Plus, I told you, he's on our side now." Sonic reminded her.  
"How can you be sure he's really on our side?" Rouge continued, "Soko could be pretending someone else did it. If there's one thing I know well, it's never trust anyone you don't really know."  
"Well I don't suspect people until I know they did something wrong."  
"You always accuse Eggman when something bad happens."  
"I'm always right too."  
"That's not the point."  
"The point is that Soko is innocent 'til proven guilty." Sonic said with a hint of annoyance.  
"We'll see." Rouge said quietly.  
"What are we gonna do until everyone else is back?" Amy asked.  
"I guess all we can do is wait. They shouldn't be that much longer, right?" Sonic said. The three of them simply looked of one another. 


	9. Blame

Shadic's Escape Chapter 10: Blame  
  
A little late this time, there goes my plan of "catching up quickly"...  
  
Shadic: HA! I knew you couldn't stick to your schedual. You owe me five bucks.  
  
Darn it... Oh well, on wit ze chaptar.  
  
BLAME  
By the time Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Soko arrived, night had fallen. Soko seemed timid to be in a new place.  
"It sure took you guys long enough!" Sonic said.  
"We had a few delays." Shadow responded. He seemed to glance at Soko and Knuckles.  
"I had to get a few things, for Shadic's antidote." Knuckles held up a small brown sack.  
"So, then you know how to make her better?" Soko asked hopefully. Knuckles shook his head.  
"Like I said, I have to know what made her sick in the first place. But I think Tails could figure it out." everyone looked at Tails.  
"I might be able to use my computer and a blood sample to find out. It should work, I think." Tails told them.  
"Then Knuckles could make a cure." Rouge said.  
"And Shadic would get better!" Amy concluded.  
"Where is she now?" Soko asked.  
"Upstairs." Sonic answered.  
"Can I go see her?"  
"Let me get a blood sample from her first. You can come and wait 'til I'm done." Tails said. He then dashed upstairs and into his room, followed by Soko. There was a small room connected to it which Tails used as a shop and lab. The lights blinked as Tails turned them on. He picked up a small glass tube and a pin from a table and headed for the girls bedroom. "You wait here, then you can go see her." he told Soko, who nodded. Tails opened the door, and went in, closing it behind him. A few moments later, the door opened again and Tails came out.  
"What is that?" Soko pointed to the glass tube Tails held. It had a pearly light green substance in it.  
"It's her blood sample." Tails answered as if Soko had asked what two plus two equaled.  
"Shouldn't it be red?" Soko asked with surprise.  
"In anyone else's case, yeah. But she's a little different from us; that must have been the color of the Emerald she's fused with. I've gotta start examining this, you can go in now." Tails said before going back to his lab. Soko took a deep breath, let it out through his teeth, and poked his head into the room. It was dark inside, as the window blinds were closed. There was a lamp on, but the light emitted from it was dim. Soko slowly entered and closed the door noiselessly behind him. He had wanted to visit Shadic, but now that he was here, he wanted more than ever to leave. He made his way to the bed and, seeing that she was awake, was suddenly at a total loss for words. All he could do was stand by the bed, staring into Shadic's eyes, which once shined bright with life, but they had now lost that brightness. She was paler than ever and her breathing was still uneven and raspy. It seemed that she didn't even know where she was.  
"I thought that you'd want to know that Knuckles is working on a cure for you." Soko said awkwardly. Shadic looked blankly at him. "So, you'll be up and about soon." Soko added. He got the same blank, confused look. It was almost as if both of them were in different worlds. "And, then everything will be fine." Soko continued. Shadic shook her head very slowly as if to argue with his statement.  
"It will be better for everyone if I just die." she murmured.  
"No, don't say that. That's the last thing we all want." Soko told her. She just closed her eyes. "No giving up." he said in a commanding tone. Shadic opened her eyes again and looked away from Soko. She stared at the floor with the same unfocused gaze. "You hear me? I'm serious." Soko said. She said nothing. He waited for an answer. When realizing that he wasn't going to get on, he decided he should go. "You should try and get some sleep, okay?" he still didn't get any reply. Shadic seemed to be lost in another world again. Soko started to leave. As he rested his his hand on the doorknob, he looked over his should. "I promise you'll be well again soon." he wondered if his words meant anything to Shadic. She just kept staring at the floor with a lost expression. At last he forced himself to go back downstairs. He found Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles, and Amy in the living room. They stopped their conversation to look up at him.  
"How's she doin'?" Sonic asked. Soko shook his head. "Still not good?" Sonic guessed.  
"Worse." Soko answered.  
"Here, come sit down." Rouge made room on the couch for him. He sat down heavily and put his head in his hands, the was someone would if they had a headache. "Now tell us, what happened?"  
"I don't think she even want's to live anymore. She's just, starting to give up on herself." Soko said.  
"Well, she has been through a lot." Knuckles said.  
"But she's never wanted to just give up before. And she seems to be in another place sometimes now. One minute, she knows your there, the next, she doesn't."  
"Probably an effect from that poison. I bet she just wants it to end." Rouge said.  
"To wish for death shows only one's weakness." Shadow said. A pause followed, during which everyone was watching him strangely.  
"Did you make that up?" Amy asked him.  
"I heard it from-somewhere." Shadow answered divertingly. He didn't want to tell them that Maria had once read it to him from a book. She used to spend hours reading aloud to him, and that was something special that he wanted to keep secret. The clock in the hall struck eleven.  
"I'm gonna go check on Tails." Sonic announced. He got up and climbed the stairs. He found Tails in his lab at his computer. "Hey Tails." Sonic said. Tails jumped a little then turned around.  
"Hi." he said. Sonic stood next to him to watch what he was doing.  
"Find anything yet?" Sonic asked.  
"Yeah, but it's strange, watch." Tails brought up a new window. It said: Unnatural substance found. Fast acting poison. Symptoms include pain, high fever, weakness, shaking, confusion, paleness, and disorientation. Approximently two hours after symptoms begin, victim dies.  
"Are you sure that's right?" Sonic asked after he finished reading, "Death after two hours? It's been way longer than that."  
"I know, that's what I don't understand. Do you think this is enough info for Knuckles?" Tails asked as he printed it and handed the paper to Sonic.  
"It better be."  
"I'll see if I can find anything else out."  
"And I'll go give this to Knux." Sonic ran through the hall and took the stairs two at a time. He was thinking, If that stuff was supposed to have Shadic dead hours ago, we really gotta hurry. I wonder why it's working so much slower than it's supposed to. There much be something else different about her that we don't know of. "Hey Knux!" Sonic gave the paper to Knuckles, "That's all the stuff Tails found." Knuckles took the paper without even glancing at it, grabbed his bag, and stood up.  
"All right, I'll go outside and make an antidote." he started towards the door.  
"Wait, why do you have to go outside?" Sonic asked.  
"One: it gets messy. Two: there's a seven to ten chance that I'd blow up your house." Knuckles answered.  
"Oh, in that case, out!" Sonic pointed to the door.  
"I'm going, I'm going." Knuckles left with a chuckle. Sonic sighed.  
"The things I have to live with." he grumbled.  
"How long do you think it'll take him?" Amy asked.  
"My guess is that when you hear an explosion, he's probably done."  
"I hope he gets done soon." Soko said. He had been sitting very silently.  
"Why are you always so quiet?" Rouge asked him.  
"I'm used to being alone." Soko answered simply.  
"Well, tell us about yourself." Amy urged.  
"There's nothing to tell."  
"Where are you from?" Rouge asked.  
"From around."  
"That's not an answer." Sonic said.  
"So? It's none of you business where I'm from."  
"Why are you so touchy about everything lately?" Shadow asked.  
"Why are you asking me so many questions?!" Soko stood up irritably and sat by the window with his back turned to the others. "What? Don't you trust me?" he asked over his shoulder.  
"Er, I wouldn't say that, exactly." Sonic said.  
"Just curious." Amy assured him.  
"Yeah, well leave me alone, okay?" Soko turned to look out the window. He could see Knuckles outside so he watched him. Sonic, Shadow, and Amy each gave Rouge a cold look. Rouge shrugged and mouthed, "What?" She was convinced that the reason Soko was being so defensive was because he knew she accused him of poisoning Shadic. 


	10. The Cure Begins

Shadic's Escape Chapter 11: The Cure Begins  
  
Whoohoo, we got some comments! Thank you people who reviewed! ^_^ This here's a pretty short chapter, so we'll go double this time.  
  
THE CURE BEGINS  
It was now very early in the morning. Sonic, Shadow, Soko, and Rouge sat, waiting for Knuckles to come back in. Tails had found nothing more about the mysterious substance that was poisoning Shadic. He and Amy had both tried to stay awake, but had eventually fallen asleep. Tails was curled up cutely in a chair and Amy was on the couch with her head on Sonic's lap. Sonic figured that she had fallen asleep next to him on purpose and it annoyed him. But she was sleeping so peacefully that he decided there was no point in disturbing her. Finally, Knuckles returned. He carried a small wooden bowl with a thick greenish goo in it.  
"Ew, what is that?" Rouge asked.  
"It smells like old cabbages." Sonic complained while he plugged his nose.  
"My ancestors used to make it. This stuff cures almost anything. What, were you expecting it to smell like flowers? Be glad you don't have to drink it."  
"Disgusting!" Rouge said.  
"So, that's the stuff that will cure Shadic?" Soko asked.  
"Yep." Knuckles answered.  
"How long 'til she's better?" Sonic asked.  
"Dunno, could be hours, days, weeks, maybe even months."  
"Months?!" Soko exclaimed.  
"I'll start giving it to her now, the sooner the better." Knuckles walked upstairs, yawning once as he went. He found Shadic staring off into space. He waved his hand in front of her. She slowly moved her eyes to look at him. "Hey, Dr. Knux says you gotta take your medicine then go to bed." he helped her sit up and made her swallow a spoon-full of the antidote. It felt like it was burning her throat, making her cough and sputter. "You might as well get used to it, 'cause your gonna have to take it everyday 'til your better. No exceptions. Now get some sleep, that'll do you a lot of good, trust me." he winked. After turning off the lamp, he quietly returned downstairs. We might as well get some sleep too." he told everyone who was still awake.  
"Yeah, I'm beat." Sonic agreed. He carefully go up without waking Amy. " 'Night guys, cya in the morning."  
"It is morning." Shadow reminded him.  
"Whatever. Hey Soko, you wanna sleep upstairs or down here?"  
"I'm not tired, I'll just stay down here." Soko answered.  
"Suit yourself." Sonic went up to bed, followed by Rouge, Knuckles, and Shadow. Soko stayed by the window and stared at the stars and moon. He sighed, causing the window to fog up. He rested his head against the cool, smooth glass, thinking, Do they accuse me for this? Am I really the one to blame? 


	11. Rebirth

Shadic's Escape Chapter 12: Rebirth  
  
And here's the second chapter I promised. *whistles* Ya'll got quite a bit to read... I was just skimming through this chapter and remembered how much fun this one was to write!  
  
REBIRTH  
Weeks later, Shadic finally showed signs of healing. At last, on a nice, late spring morning, she woke with no pain. At first, it was very surprising to be able to get again. She walked to the window, she was a little shaky because she hadn't walked in so long. After opening the window, she poked her head outside. It was sunny and there was a gentle warm breeze blowing which smelled of flowers. A family of Flickies were in a tree nearby. Shadic watched with interest as the oldest two tried to teach tree young ones to fly. They rose a little, squawked in surprise, then fell back into the nest. She closed the window and looked in the small mirror that hung on the wall. Now, her vision was clear, she was no longer pale, she looked completely healthy. Though her fur was ruffled and had a rougher texture instead of it's normal soft feel. She quickly flattened it, then grinned.  
"Oh yeah, I'm back!" she said happily. It felt like she had been reborn. She thought back over the past few weeks, when she had been slowly recovering. It had been hectic for everyone else too. They tried their best to help out, each taking turns visiting her. Knuckles, of course, came to give her his antidote. She shivered when she recalled it's horrible taste. Sonic would come and tell funny stories, mostly about things he had done when he was little. Shadic laughed at his stories now, but when they were being told to her, she couldn't. Tails tried to show her some drawings he had made. Though he didn't seem it, Tails was much younger than he would let you think. Shadic made a mental note to look at his drawings more closely someday, so that she could see his art clearly. Rouge told her any news that was happening in the outside world. Amy read poems to her. Soko had come the most and his visits were longest. He would sit by her, sometimes silent, sometimes he would talk. He would say that she looked like she was getting stronger each time he came. The only person Shadic didn't see was Shadow. She knew that Shadow preferred to keep to himself. Together all of them, in their own way, helped Shadic recover. She was aware of how worried they were, especially after the time they had feared that she had died. It was the night three days after she had started taking her antidote, when Knuckles had come to give it to her again. He had found her very still and quiet. At first, he thought that she was finally getting some sleep. But as he came closer to wake her up, he noticed that it didn't look like she was breathing. He panicked and tried to think of what to do. Eventually, she began taking small breaths on her own again. Since then they had started their many visits, probably to check that she was still alive. She didn't want them to worry any more, she wanted to show them that she was okay now thanks to their help. She crept soundlessly downstairs. She kept herself flat against the wall, right next to the doorway to the kitchen. It sounded like everyone was in there, most likely eating breakfast.  
"It's been nearly five weeks, how much longer will this take?" the voice of Soko said.  
"I told you it might take awhile." said Knuckles.  
"Yeah, so stop worrying so much." Sonic said.  
"I can't help it!" Soko exclaimed. Shadic looked out from behind the wall. Soko was facing away from her, just as she had hoped. Everyone else looked at her with wide eyes. Tails opened his mouth to say something. Shadic put one finger to her lips to silence him. He immediately shut his mouth. "What's with you guys all of a sudden?" Soko asked curiously.  
"Nothing." Tails said. Soko gave him a funny look. Shadic tip-toed quietly up behind him.  
"Hello." she whispered simply into his ear. He jumped and fell out of his chair.  
"What the heck?!" he yelled in surprise. Then he looked behind him. "Shadic? Your okay!" he exclaimed happily. Unable to help himself, he got up and gave her a hug. She looked momentarily surprised.  
"Whoa, hey, get off me!" Shadic slapped him hard across the face. Though she smiled to show him that there were no hard feelings. Everyone burst out laughing. Soko blushed.  
"Uh, sorry about that." Soko said. He was extremely embarrassed.  
"Yeah, just don't do that again." Shadic told him while she laughed.  
"Feeling better?" Sonic asked.  
"Yeah, loads better. Thanks guys!"  
"Good to have ya back to normal." Knuckles said.  
"Good to be back. Oh, and by the way, next time you make an antidote or something, work on the taste, 'cause it's nasty!"  
"I bet it tasted as bad as it smelled." Shadow said.  
"About twenty times worse." Shadic said.  
"Ew!" Amy cried and stuck out her tongue.  
"But at least it worked. Wow, that's a first, Knuckles made something that worked!" Rouge said.  
"Yep." Knuckles nodded, then blinked, "Hey, wait a minute! You saying my cures don't work?"  
"Took you long enough to get it."  
"Gees, I get no respect."  
"Hey, at least it worked this time, thankfully." Shadic reminded him. Then she thought of something. "Sonic, remember what you promised me?"  
"Um... not really." he answered.  
"You told me that as soon as I got better, you'd teach me how to stand on a plane. Ring any bells?"  
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"  
"You forget about everything." Shadow murmured.  
"I do not!" Sonic growled at him, "Tails, you up for some flying today?"  
"Sure, can we go now? I haven't brought out the Tornado for ages!" Tails said excitedly.  
"Don't you think that Shadic should take it easy for awhile?" Rouge said.  
"Aw come on, I'm fine!" Shadic insisted.  
"Yeah, she's okay." Sonic said.  
"I really don't think it's a good idea." Rouge warned them.  
"What are you gonna do, Rouge? Try to stop them?" Shadow asked, "Your not their mother you know." this left Rouge with nothing more to say.  
"I'll go warm up the Tornado." Tails said before going out back.  
"You know, you should come too Shadow." Sonic offered.  
"Why, so you could push me off?" Shadow answered.  
"I wouldn't do that! Besides, you know Tails just added a back seat, you could sit there."  
"Yeah, come with us Shadow!" Shadic urged.  
"I don't really like flying." Shadow said while looking at the floor. He didn't like flying ever since he was ejected from the ARK in a small capsule. He didn't mind it before then, he even enjoyed it. But now planes just reminded him of that terrifying fall.  
"Now's the time to start liking it." Sonic said. He pulled Shadow up from his seat and led him to the back door.  
"It'll be fun!" Shadic told him as the three of them walked across the grass. They could hear the laud hum of the Tornado. The louder the humming got, the harder Shadow's heart thudded against his chest. "Cool!" Shadic awed when they stood before the Tornado.  
"Do you really like it?" Tails asked from the cockpit, "Sonic and I made it ourselves."  
"It's awesome!" Shadic walked around the machine, looking at every inch of it. Shadow glared at it with a mixture of dislike and fear.  
"Hiya Shadow, your coming too? Great!" Tails said.  
"No, I'm not getting in that thing." Shadow took a single, small step back; keeping his eyes on the plane as though it were some wild animal preparing to attack. Tails frowned.  
"It's safe you know."  
"Oh, he knows it, and he's gonna come whether he likes it or not." Sonic said.  
"I said I'm not getting in that thing!" Shadow repeated.  
"Don't be such a baby Shadow." Shadic said, "It's not gonna kill you."  
"You don't understand!" Shadow cried. He turned to run but Sonic cut him off.  
"Your always saying that your better than me, and you won't even go near a plane?" he said.  
"You've never plummeted from the ARK to the ground, I have twice." Shadow snapped.  
"Oh, so that's why you afraid of flying! Tails is an awesome pilot, he wouldn't let you fall, right Tails?"  
"Right." Tails said.  
"I know, but-"  
"Maria wouldn't want you to be such a sissy about it." Sonic said. Shadow fell silent and looked back at the Tornado.  
"I hate it when you do that." he told Sonic, then approached the plane. He paused a moment before climbing in.  
"Can we go now?" Sonic asked impatiently. Tails gave him a thumbs-up.  
"Good to go." he said.  
"All right, finally!" Shadic cheered. Sonic jumped up on top of the planes wing.  
"Come up here." he told her. She climbed up and stood next to him.  
"Ready?" Tails asked.  
"Ready." Sonic and Shadic said together.  
"Ready." Shadow squeaked. The plane slowly started to move. Faster it went until, finally, they were soaring in the clouds.  
"What happens if we fall?" Shadic asked.  
"Tails'll catch us." Sonic answered. He had his hands on her shoulders to help her keep balance.  
"You can let go, I think I've got the hang of it." Shadic said. Sonic let go, and she still kept perfect balance. She peered over the edge of the wing at the ground, which was so very far away. She had absolutely no fear of heights. "This is so cool!" she got on her hands and knees to look under the wind at Shadow. He had his eyes squeezed shut and was gripping the sides of his seat tightly. "How can you not like this?" she asked with disbelief, "C'mon, check it out, it's not as bad as you think." Shadow managed a quick look at the ground, then hid his face with his hands and sunk lower into his seat.  
"Was that supposed to help? It didn't!" he moaned. Shadic rolled her eyes.  
"I didn't say look down."  
"You could've warned me not too!" Shadow's voice was now muffled because he was rolled up into a ball. Shadic stood up again.  
"I can't believe he doesn't like this, flying is awesome!" she threw one fist into the air with joy. Sonic laughed.  
"You haven't seen anything yet!" he said.  
"What? You mean this thing can do more? Show me!" Shadic said.  
"Poor Shadow wouldn't like it." Sonic hesitated.  
"Oh he'll be fine, come on, please?" she begged.  
"Okay, just try not to freak too much." Sonic warned. He leaned over the edge of the wing to talk to Tails as Shadic had done when she spoke to Shadow, "You heard her, show'em what this baby can do!" he told Tails.  
"All right!" he said happily. He increased the Tornado's speed. Sonic stood again.  
"You should like this, it's way past cool." he told Shadic.  
"What's he gonna do?" she asked.  
"You'll see." Sonic grinned. They were now moving twice as fast as they were before.  
"Get ready." Tails told them. Before Shadic could asked what they were supposed to get read for, Tails directed the plane into a loop-de- loop. Sonic and Shadic, of course, slipped off of the wing as it went upside-down.  
"Are you crazy?!" Shadic yelled as she fell. As the Tornado completed it's loop-de-loop, it lined up under both of them. Sonic landed on his feet, Shadic didn't and landed with a loud thud.  
"Don't-do-that-again!" Shadow yelled loudly. He looked like he was going to be sick.  
"Whoa..." was all Shadic said. She took a deep calming breath. "Did I just fall off of a plane thousands of feet up in the air then land back on top of it?" she asked with surprise.  
"Yeah, what did you think of it?" Sonic asked.  
"That was only the coolest, wildest thing I've ever done!" she cheered. She jumped back to her feet.  
"I knew you'd love it." Sonic smiled.  
"I think we better go home now," Tails called, "I don't think Shadow's too happy." his voice trailed off.  
"Sonic Hedgehog I swear I'll never listen to you again!" Shadow screamed, "You better hope I never get my hands on you!"  
"Yeah, let's go home." Sonic said slowly. Great, he thought, now he's gonna kill me. Shadic was trying hard not to laugh. * * * * *  
Soon, the Tornado bounced on the ground and landed. Shadow was furious at Sonic for putting him through that flight. He was the first one out, followed by Tails. Shadic jumped down from the wing, but Sonic stayed were he was. Shadow glared up angrily at him.  
"Get down here, faker!" he growled. He now only called Sonic "faker" when he was really mad.  
"Uh, no, I'll stay here, thank you." Sonic said. He preferred to at least try and stay on Shadow's good side. Shadow narrowed his eyes even more.  
"You are so dead!" he charged at Sonic, who ran before he could climb up to the Tornado's wing.  
"Help!" Sonic shrieked.  
"Should we help him?" Shadic asked Tails while watching the chase.  
"I don't want Shadow to kill me too, I'd just leave them alone." Tails answered.  
"Works for me." Shadic said. Sonic and Shadow were now a tangled mess of fur, quills, and dust. Both just blurs as they battled.  
"C'mon, they'll be at it for hours." Tails turned back to the house.  
"Are you sure we shouldn't stop them." Shadic asked uncertainly.  
"I don't know about you, but nothing would make me get between those two." both looked back at them. All they could really see was a large dust cloud and the blue and yellow flashes of light from their attacks.  
"Good point." Shadic said quickly. With that she and Tails walked across the yard to the house. * * * * *  
"Where's Sonic?" Amy asked as soon as Shadic and Tails came into the house.  
"Outside gettin' his tail kicked by Shadow." Shadic answered. Amy put her hand to her mouth.  
"You mean they're fighting again?"  
"Who's fighting again?" Rouge had just entered the room.  
"Sonic and Shadow." Tails told her. She sighed.  
"You would think that those two still hated each other." she said.  
"They used to hate each other?" Shadic said with surprise.  
"Yeah," Rouge explained, "Awhile ago, Shadow took the Chaos Emeralds, but he got caught on camera. The only thing is, everyone thought is was Sonic. So GUN was after Sonic because they accused him of stealing the Emeralds, and they were after Shadow because, well..." she trailed off.  
"Because what?" Shadic asked.  
"Shadow used to be, bad." Tails finished.  
"Oh." Shadic said slowly, "Well, what happened next?"  
"Sonic was mad at Shadow because he got him in so much trouble. Shadow was angry because Sonic rivaled his own power and got in his way. Boy did they fight a lot back then, and I mean really fight. In the end, after Shadow went straight, they teamed up and saved Mobius."  
"So, that's their true story." Shadic murmured. The door opened and Knuckles and Soko came in, out of breath.  
"Sonic and Shadow are making a load of noise. We were outside and they just started fighting!" Knuckles said after he caught his breath.  
"Yeah, we already know." Tails said.  
"You do? Oh, um, never mind then." Knuckles blushed.  
"Were have you two been?" Shadic asked.  
"Just out for a walk." Soko answered.  
"Uh-huh, well I'm gonna go break up the fight if no one else will."  
"I'll help." Soko offered, and he followed Shadic back outside. They stopped a few yards away from Sonic and Shadow, who were still battling. "Maybe we should just wait 'til they're finished." Soko said uncertainly.  
"Nah, what fun would that be?" Shadic said with a grin.  
"Do you have any sort of plan." Soko asked.  
"I'm working on it as I go." Shadic answered simply. She came closer to Sonic and Shadow than one would normally dare. "Hey you two, knock it off!" she told them. They didn't seem to hear her, and kept launching homing attacks at one another. They hit each other in mid-air and ricocheted off into different directions. Shadic had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit by Shadow as he sailed by. "Hey! Watch it! Break it up already!" she shouted. They instead went into another homing attack directly above her. She threw herself on the ground to, yet again, avoid getting hit. "Gees!" she yelled, raising her head again. "Cut it out!" Sonic and Shadow charged at each other again. Shadic rolled out of the way and retreated to the spot were Soko still stood.  
"That was your plan?" he asked innocently.  
"Shut up." Shadow told him in reply. She sat, deep in thought.  
"Do you have another idea?" Soko asked after a few minutes.  
"I think so." Shadic said slowly.  
"Well, what is it?"  
"Okay, by any chance did you see that recording of my first, and only for that matter, training session way back when?'  
"Yeah, I think everyone did at one point or another."  
"Remember how I released pure energy to destroy all those robots?"  
"Them and half of the room." Soko added.  
"Yeah, well what if I sort of, fine-tuned that move so that I wouldn't hurt those two, but just separated them?"  
"Do you think you could pull that off?"  
"Sure, why not?"  
"That just might work!"  
"You'd better step back." Shadic warned Soko. He backed away without question. Shadic closed her eyes tightly and concentrated hard, just as she had done on the second day of her life. Again, the bright, multicolored aura surrounded her. The nearby grass began swaying as if a wind were blowing. Her now dark purple eyes seemed to glow after they were opened. Please, she thought, don't go wrong. She held her hands out in front of her, and the brightly colored energy flew forwards between Sonic and Shadow just as they ran at each other. They both ran into the wall of energy and were thrown forcefully backward. Moving her hands farther apart, Shadic widened the wall, therefore spreading Sonic and Shadow away from one another.  
"I'm not done with him yet." Shadow growled angrily at Shadic.  
"Ha! Now you can't kill me!" Sonic stuck out his tongue at Shadow. Shadow shook because of anger.  
"This wall won't be here forever." Shadow hissed. And he was right, Shadic could only keep this up for a little while. As it began to flicker, Sonic became pale. Shadow grinned and ran his hand through some stray fur to push it out of his eyes, and waited for the energy to die out completely. It flickered again, then faded. Shadow charged at Sonic yet again, but Shadic dashed between them, blocking him. "Move." Shadow said in a commanding voice.  
"No, you've fought enough for one day." Shadic said.  
"I said move." Shadow said louder.  
"Make me." Shadic replied rather calmly.  
"This is between him and me, now get out of my way!" Shadow yelled. Shadic said nothing and just stared him straight in the eye. She knew she was really pushing her luck.  
"Sonic didn't mean you any harm." she said, attempting to try and calm him down.  
"Maybe not, but I sure mean harm to him." Shadow snapped. Shadic looked over her shoulder and mouthed say sorry to Sonic.  
"Hey, I didn't mean to scare you, really. I just didn't think you'd freak out so much." Sonic said. Then he chuckled, "You gotta admit, it was funny hearing you scream like that." he said. Shadic shook her head. That wasn't a smart thing for Sonic to say.  
"Just wait 'til I make you scream faker!"  
"You need to calm down Shadow." Soko said. He cam to stand beside Shadic. Shadow glared at them both. He then turned and went inside, muttering to himself. He slammed the door loudly behind him. Sonic made a whistling sound through his teeth.  
"That went well." he said. Both Shadic and Soko sighed.  
"You call that well?" Sonic shrugged.  
"What do you and Shadow have against each other?" Shadic asked.  
"Nothing! He's just got a bad temper." Sonic insisted.  
"You don't have to fight over everything." Soko told him.  
"He started it." Sonic grumbled.  
"I'm gonna go see if Shadow's all right." Shadic decided. She too went inside. "Where'd Shadow go?" she asked Rouge.  
"Upstairs." she answered, "I think he's in a bad mood."  
"I tried to say hi to him," Amy said, "but he just ignored me."  
"Yeah, he's pretty upset now, he was trying to kill Sonic." Shadic climbed up the stairs. She figured Shadow had gone into his room to get some peace. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She frowned and put an ear to the door, and couldn't hear anything. She knocked softly.  
"Go away." Shadow said from inside.  
"Come on Shadow, let me in." Shadic said. Shadow didn't do or say anything. "Fine, be that way. Chaos Control!" she teleported herself inside the room. Shadow was standing, facing the wall. He looked over his shoulder.  
"I forgot you could do that." he seemed a little more calm now that he was away from Sonic. Shadic noticed that his eyes were a bit moist.  
"You okay?" she asked. Shadow frowned and sighed heavily.  
"Sonic had been bringing back some bad memories again lately." he said sadly. He sat on the floor and wouldn't look at Shadic. "I don't know if he means it or not, but it still hurts. I want to forget my past, but he won't let me." he said. Shadic sat across from him.  
"What happened that you don't want to remember?" she asked.  
"I never tell others." Shadow said gruffly.  
"Oh you can tell me. I'll keep your secret." Shadic said, "Sometimes, it's better to tell someone.  
"Promise?" Shadow thought that maybe, she could be right. All his secrets slowly ate away at him.  
"Promise." Shadic assured him.  
"I swear that if you tell a soul I'll break your neck." Shadow said seriously.  
"I won't tell anyone." she promised again.  
"It's a long story you know."  
"Your stalling aren't you? I don't care if you talk all day and night. I bet you'll feel loads better afterward."  
"Okay, okay." he took a deep breath, let it out, and began his long story. 


	12. Shadow's Past

Shadic's Escape Chapter 13: Shadow's Past  
  
Happy late Holidays everyone! If anyone wants to see a picture of Shadic, you can go see one here: www.deviantart.com/view/4125473/  
  
SHADOW'S PAST  
  
"When I was made," Shadow began, "I didn't start life at age sixteen like you, but I wasn't one either. For some reason, I was like a three year old. I still remember when I woke up for the first time. I was really small, and I just sat on the platform on the bottom of that big glass tank. Professor Gerald and Maria were there, and some other people who were probably scientists. I was afraid, and started crying. Maria come over to me, picked me up, and started rocking me back and forth. Then I calmed down.  
  
As I grew, I found that everyone on the space station was kind. They all took care of me, taught me, and played with me. But I liked Maria the best. She took me all over ARK, I doubt that there are any rooms that we haven't explored. At night she read to me. If I couldn't sleep, she would sit by me and sing until I did fall asleep. Whenever I was sick, she stayed right at my side.  
  
When I turned thirteen, Professor Gerald would often give Maria something to do, and took me to an empty room. There were windows everywhere, even in the floor. We'd just sit on the couch and talk. He would answer all of my questions, no matter what they were. At that age, I started to learn about my abilities, and that's usually what my questions were about. One time, I was sitting on the floor, looking through one of the large windows. Gerald was watching me from the couch. While looking into space, I saw a planet. This planet. I asked him what it was, because I've never seen another world before. He said it was called Mobius, and people lived there. He got up and gazed out of one of the window on the wall, and I followed him, even though I was hardly tall enough to see out of it. He said that the people were troubled, and that he wanted to help them.  
  
About a year later, I had begun to find out how to use my power, but I couldn't control it. I kept destroying things, but not purposely. I couldn't stop it, and that scared me. Everyone except Maria and Gerald left because they didn't trust me anymore and they were afraid of me. To make sure I didn't hurt anyone, I locked myself in my room."  
  
"Like your doing now?" Shadic asked.  
  
"In a way, but at least now I can control myself. Anyway, I learned that GUN had been watching the Professor's experiments. They thought that I had become too dangerous, and ordered him to destroy me. Of course he refused. He didn't see me as just a project. I was like his son, and Maria's little brother. After countless warnings, GUN threatened that if I was still alive in a weeks time, they would kill all three of us themselves. A week came, and went. As promised, a small army invaded the place I called home. Maria and I ran to the escape pod's and Gerald stayed behind to try and hold them back. We were found just as we got close to the evacuation room. We had to go a different route. It was through the oldest section of ARK. It was cold, dark, and broken down. The men behind us started shooting. One of them shot Maria, but I didn't know." Shadow voice became shaky, "She told me to keep going and that she would escape in another pod. I got into mind, it closed, and that was when I saw that she was hurt. I told her to let me out so that she could go first and get to a doctor. She just looked at me, and told me that the people of Mobius needed help to become happy. She said that she wanted me to give them their chance. Then, she launched me into space. I was so terrified, I couldn't even scream. I couldn't get Maria's last words out of my head: Sayanara, Shadow the Hedgehog.  
  
When I crash-landed, I passed out for awhile. After I woke again, I found that I had been shot too." Shadow's hand moved to his right arm, just below his shoulder. Beneath his fingers, Shadic saw a scar. It was mostly hidden by his fur.  
  
"Ouch." she said, and then waited for him to continue his story.  
  
"Yeah, after I had nothing to distract me it hurt so badly that I thought I'd pass out again. And then of all things, it started to rain. Now, I was afraid, lost, lonely, injured... and wet. I found a cave and stayed there.  
  
For three years, I wandered around the planet called Mobius, and I stayed hidden. Maria and Gerald were right, the people did have problems. They fought, stole, lied, and even killed. One day, I saw some teenagers robbing a store. I was tired of staying hidden, and wanted to do something right. I went to stop them, and as soon as they saw me they dropped what they carried and ran. When I tried to return what they took, the manager just screamed and called the police. The only think I could think of doing was to run. After GUN found out that I was still alive, they hunted me down until I was too exhausted to run anymore. I expected to be killed then and there, but they thought that I may be of some use to them in the future. So I was cryogenically frozen for fifty years instead. And I suspect that you have heard the rest." when he had finished talking, he sat as though in thought.  
  
"That's a lot to want to forget." Shadic said softly.  
  
"Now do you understand why I attacked Sonic?" Shadow asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's no wonder why you hate flying after what you've been through." she paused for a moment, "Did it help to let you secret out?"  
  
"I guess so, and it was easier that I thought too." he smiled a little then glanced out the window. "I must have been blabbing longer than I thought too." he chuckled. Shadic looked out the window too. They sky was dark blue, but not pure black yet. It much have been hours since she had broken up the fight between Sonic and Shadow, but how could it seem that it had only been minutes ago?  
  
"Well, if your feeling okay, what do ya say we eat some dinner now?" Shadic suggested after her stomach growled loudly.  
  
"Everyone else would have finished eating by now."  
  
"Than I'll make something." she stood up. Shadow gave her a strange look. "What? Just because I've never cooked before doesn't mean that I can't. I'll just read the directions." she said confidently, "If you want some, come on." she stretched and waited to see whether Shadow would follow or not. He seemed to be considering the offer.  
  
"I guess I owe you one for helping me." he too stood and followed her downstairs.  
  
"I don't think I'll blow anything up." Shadic assured him. She wanted to ask the others if they would want any of whatever she prepared. She found Sonic and Tails playing a video game n the living room. Soko was watching. It appeared that everyone else had gone to bed. "Hey Sonic, is it okay if I cooked something since Shadow and I missed dinner?"  
  
"Uh-huh." Sonic answered without looking away from the TV. Shadic doubted that he had even heard her question.  
  
"Do you wanna try some of whatever I make?" she hadn't yet thought of what she would attempt to cook.  
  
"Don't care." he answered in the same tone as before. Shadic took it as a yes.   
  
"What about you Tails, Soko?"  
  
"'K" Tails answered like Sonic had.  
  
"Sure." Soko replied.  
  
"They must like to eat a lot." Shadic told Shadow as they entered the kitchen.  
  
"With the way Sonic eats I'm surprised he's not fat." was Shadow's reply. He sat in one of the chairs. Shadic was looking through the cupboards. She found a couple packages of soup.  
  
"This looks easy enough." she said as she skimmed through the three directions printed on the back of the bag. "Boil two cups of water and stir in noodles for three minutes." she read aloud, "Then mix in flavoring. I can do that." she found a pan and put it on the stove. Unable to find a measuring cup, she had to guess how much water equaled two cups. "Hey, does this look like enough water to you?" she asked Shadow. He came to investigate.  
  
"Um, I think so." Shadow said unsurely. Shadic turned the stove on. It clicked five times before the blue flame finally lit.  
  
"Oh well. Do you think that the water'll boil faster if the heat is on high?"  
  
"Yeah, it should, shouldn't it?"  
  
"We'll find out." several minutes later, after Shadow had sat down again and Shadic began tapping her foot with impatience, the water began to boil. "It's about time!" Shadic opened the bag of noodles.  
  
"I'd turn the heat down before adding those if I were you." Soko had just came into the kitchen, apparently he became bored with watching Sonic and Tails play their video game.   
  
"Why?" she asked just after pouring in the noodles. The water bubbled with white foam, then overflowed. Shadic yelped and quickly turned the heat down to low, causing the foam to recede.  
  
"That's why." Soko snickered. Shadic cleaned the spilt water with a rag. Shadow was about to fall out of his chair because he was laughing so hard.  
  
"What a great cook you are!" he said.  
  
"Shut up! Like you could do any better." she threw the wet rag at Shadow and it hit him in the face. This time Shadic was the one laughing.  
  
"Hey!: he picked the rag up and thought about throwing it back, but decided against it. Instead, he tossed it into the garbage can. "How long 'til it's done?" he didn't want to openly admit that he was starving.  
  
"Two more minutes." Shadic answered after consulting the bag.   
  
"We've gotta wait two whole minutes?" Sonic asked as he and Tails entered the kitchen.  
  
"Wait, one minute now."  
  
"That's not too long." Tails said as he sat at the table. Sonic got give bowls and spoons from the cabinet, gave everyone one of each, then sat himself. Shadic turned the stove off and mixed the flavoring into the soup. After making sure that the pot was cool enough to handle, she set it on the table.  
  
"Help yourself." she said. The four boys spooned some soup into their bowls as she too found a seat. She put what was left into her own bowl.  
  
"Mmm, this is good." Tails said while licking his lips.  
  
"Really good." Soko said.  
  
"Ditto." Sonic said as he scarfed down his food.  
  
"And you didn't blow anything up, just like you said." Shadic commented. Shadic tried hers, it wasn't that bad.  
  
"Now I know that I can follow three, easy-to-do instructions. She said. Tails yawned deeply.  
  
"Your going to bed after your done with that." Sonic told him.  
  
"But I'm not tired!" Tails insisted. Sonic finished eating and put his bowl into the sink.  
  
"If you were any more tired you'd be sleeping right at the table!"  
  
"Aww, do I have to?" Tails begged.  
  
If you don't I'll write a love not to Amy and say it's from you."  
  
"You wouldn't." Tails said. Sonic smirked and picked up a pen and a notepad from the counter.  
  
"I wouldn't, would I?" he began to write slowly, "Dear Amy," he looked up, "There's still time for you to get up to bed."  
  
"Okay, okay! Please don't give that to Amy, please please please!" Tails quickly got up and put his bowl in the sink like Sonic had.  
  
"You'd better start running." Sonic warned. Without another word, Tails ran as fast as he could to his and Sonic's bedroom, nearly tripping on the stairs as he went.  
  
"I can always get him into bed within four minutes." Sonic crumbled up the paper, leaned against the counter, and tossed the paper ball up and down. The table cleared quickly as, one-by-one, everyone finished.  
  
"Well, goodnight everybody." Shadow said. He got up and headed upstairs.   
  
"Guess I'm going to bed too." Sonic said, "Shadic, your choice, you wanna sleep upstairs or downstairs?"  
  
"I've been inside for way too long. I'm thinking that I'll sleep under the stars tonight." she answered. Both sonic and Soko gave her a disbelieving look. "What?"  
  
"As in, outside?" Soko asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay, if you really wanna, go ahead." Sonic replied, "See you two in the morning." he too followed the stairs up to his room.  
  
"Later Soko," Shadic said as a goodnight. She stepped outside and was greeted be a warm breeze. She closed her eyes and let the wind blow her quills and fur about. After opening her eyes again, she scanned the backyard for a place to sleep. She spotted a tree. "That'll work." she said. She approached the tree, jumped up to grasp the lower branch, and swung herself on top of the limb. She repeated this until she was at the top-most branch. She laid on her back and gazed at the heavens. "This is something I could really get used to." she put her arms behind her head and tried to count all the stars. A shooting-star streaked across the night sky. Within minutes, Shadic fell asleep. 


	13. Heartbreak and Plans of Revenge

Shadic's Escape Chapter 14: Heartbreak and Plans of Revenge  
  
Shadic: Little-Miss-Author doesn't know what to say at the moment, so I took the liberty of typing the intro for her!  
  
HEY! I-told-you-not-to-touch-my-computer!  
  
Shadic: Heh, I forgot. *runs away*  
  
Yeah I bet... Alright, you should know by now what I'll say next! (random people: "On with the chapter!")  
  
HEARTBREAK AND PLANS OF REVENGE  
  
"Shadic, hey Shadic!" Soko called. It was now morning and he and Sonic were trying to wake Shadic up. She was still sleeping soundly on her stomach at the top of the tree. "Gees, she must be really tired." Soko said to Sonic.  
  
"Watch this." Sonic said. He ran around to the side of the house. Soon, he came back with a hose in hand. "If this doesn't get her up, nothing will." he pointed the hose at Shadic and pressed the nozzle. She woke with a start when the cold stream of water hit her. She fell out of the tree and landed on her back in front of Sonic and Soko.  
  
"What was that for?!" she demanded. She sat up and rubbed her back.  
  
"You overslept." Soko explained. Shadic stood up, yawned, and stretched.  
  
"I did? What time is it?"  
  
"Ten-thirty." Sonic answered. He was twirling the hose around.  
  
"Oh, I guess I did sleep in late." Shadic laughed.  
  
"Ya know, spraying people with the hose is fun." Sonic said with a grin, "Hey Soko, think fast!" Sonic said, then aimed the water at Soko.  
  
"Dang it that's cold!" Soko yelled as he ran, but he wasn't fast enough to escape Sonic. Suddenly, the water stopped flowing through the hose. Shadic had stood on it. Sonic stopped, but Soko kept on running.  
  
"Hey! What gives?" Sonic shook the hose handle and looked at it with disgust.   
  
"Leave him alone." Shadic got off of the hose and Sonic ended up squirting himself.  
  
"Yikes!" he quickly turned it off. "Since when do you stick up for Soko? Do you like him or something?"  
  
"No!" Shadic answered. She was glad that Soko was still keeping his distance from Sonic and his hose, and was therefore out of hearing range.  
  
"Ooh, you do don't you?" Sonic said with a smirk.  
  
"I do not!" Shadic insisted. Sonic started laughing.  
  
"Yeah you do! I can tell 'cause your blushing!"  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"Shadic and Soko sittin' in a tree!" Sonic sang.  
  
"Shut up! He likes me, not the other way around." Shadic said loudly. At the same time, Soko came back.  
  
"Uh, did I miss something?" he asked.  
  
"Hey, do you like-" Sonic began. Before he could finish his sentence Shadic put her hand over his mouth.  
  
"No, you didn't miss a thing." she answered.  
  
"Okay." Soko said slowly, and in a way that suggested that he thought that both Sonic and Shadic were crazy. "I'm going in, I think it's going to storm soon." he walked towards the house. He was right, the sky was very dark, and the wind was getting stronger.  
  
"This moment never happened, got it?." Shadic said to Sonic. She removed her hand from his mouth.  
  
"Okay, okay. Gees, can't ya take a joke?"  
  
* * * * *   
  
In a few hours time, a thunder storm had started. Everyone, of course, was now indoors. Tails was upstairs in the little lab in his room. Amy and Rouge were putting together a jig-saw puzzle. Knuckles and Shadow were playing checkers. And Sonic and Shadic were playing the video game that Sonic played with Tails the night before while Soko watched.  
  
"Yes! I win!" Shadic cheered.  
  
"Beginners luck." Sonic grumbled.   
  
"Re-match?" Shadic asked.  
  
"You bet!"  
  
"Looks like Sonic finally found someone who's better than him at that game. About time." Knuckles said.  
  
"Anybody want a soda?" Amy asked as she stood to get herself a drink.  
  
"Me." Sonic said.  
  
"I'll have one." Shadic replied.  
  
"I guess, sure." Rouge said. Amy walked into the kitchen. When she came back, she gave everyone who had asked a can of soda.  
  
"Thanks." Shadic said as she opened hers.  
  
"Yeah, thanks Amy." Sonic said. A moment later, Tails came downstairs. "Hey Tails, what's up?"  
  
"Shadic just got an e-mail." he answered.  
  
"From who?" Soko asked.  
  
"Someone named Nena." Tails said. Shadic choked on her soda.   
  
"Say what?!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Who's Nena?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Long story."  
  
"Do you want to read the message?" Tails asked.  
  
"Yeah!" Shadic answered. She followed Tails upstairs.  
  
"I wonder how this Nena person knew you were here, let alone how she got my e-mail address." Tails said as he double-clicked the e-mail icon one his computer, "It's a little fishy if you ask me."  
  
"Someone must have told her." Shadic said. She read the message over Tails' shoulder:  
  
Hello again Shadic, it's me, Nena! I heard that you're staying with Sonic and his friends now. I'm glad that you're okay. How about you come and visit today? Come alone though, my house is too small to hold us and all your friends. Hope to see you soon!"  
  
"Excellent!" Shadic cheered.  
  
"She expects you to walk all that way in a thunder storm?" Tails said with astonishment.   
  
"It'll be worth it!" Shadic said. She ran out of Tails' shop and down the stairs, almost tripping in her excitement.  
  
"You're really hyper all of a sudden." Shadow said.  
  
"Next time I give you soda I'll get the decaffeinated kind." Amy stated.  
  
"I'm going out for the day." Shadic said.  
  
"Where're you going?" Soko asked.  
  
"Nena's house."   
  
"You're gonna go while it's storming?" Sonic said with a surprised look, just like Tails' had.  
  
"You'll get hit by lightning!" Rouge exclaimed. Shadic sighed.  
  
"Fine, I'll use Chaos Control to get there if your all so worried."  
  
"Good plan." Knuckles said.  
  
"Cya later. Chaos Control!" Shadic yelled, then disappeared in a bright green flash. Only to reappear almost instantly in front of Nena's house. Within the few moments that it took to get under the roof about the door, she was soaked with water. She knocked, but no one answered. Puzzled, she tried to turn the handle, no luck.  
  
"It's locked." said an all too familiar voice. Shadic didn't need any clues to guess that it was Sam. She must had fallen into a trap!  
  
"What are you doing here?" Shadic said in a low growl. Turning around, she saw that two other humans stood with him, most likely guards. He never went anywhere alone it seemed. Sam himself was armed with a laser, aimed at her. By this time, Shadic had grown used to being at gun-point, but it unnerved her all the same.  
  
"You seem surprised to see me." he said, "And it sounds like you don't like me."  
  
"Gee, do ya think?!" Shadic said after rolling her eyes.  
  
"You haven't changed since we last met." Sam said with the tone of a father speaking to his child for the first time in years.  
  
"Neither have you, you're still a jerk."  
  
"Let's go inside, shall we?" he nodded to the man at his left. The man unlocked the door and opened it. Sam poked Shadic with the end of his laser to make her go in. Nena was inside, sobbing. When she saw Shadic, she ran upstairs, if possible, sobbing harder. Seeing that upset Shadic more than being threatened with a laser, it was just plain wrong.  
  
"Nena?" Shadic called hesitantly.   
  
"She wants nothing more to do with yo, can't you tell?" Sam said with a grin, "Perhaps that's why she tried to kill you, then when that didn't work, turned you in to us."  
  
"What?" Shadic looked at him, for once without anger, because confusion took it's place. Along with a different feeling that she couldn't describe. Nena, her best friend, had tried to kill her?  
  
"Didn't you know?" he walked forward, driving her backwards. He knew he had the advantage now that her confusion and disbelief left her vulnerable. "She's the one that poisoned you five weeks ago. After she learned that you had survived, she told us that she knew where you were. Even we thought that you were dead. Then she persuaded you to come here, right to me. Face it, she tricked you, and you fell for it."  
  
"But, she wouldn't. I thought that she was my friend." Shadic said softly. Her back bumped into the wall behind her.  
  
"You thought wrong. Way wrong." Sam said. He loved seeing her afraid like this. Her entire world had just crashed and burned in an instant.  
  
"No way." Shadic said disbelievingly to herself. She slid down to the floor, and she felt sick.  
  
"You've eluded me twice before, it won't happen again, that's a promise. You can make it easy on yourself, or hard.  
  
"This can't be happening."  
  
"Show our guest to the truck." Sam said to the two men. Then each took hold of one of Shadic's arms and pulled her up, then led her back outside. She was too shocked to resist being taking back to the place she hated. They took her to the back a a large gray truck. The back resembled an empty, metal room. Shadic thought that she saw Nena through a window on the second floor. They made eye contact for only a moment before Nena closed the curtains, then the doors closed. The rain pounded loudly against the metal walls. Shadic felt the vibration of the truck after it had started. It began to move so suddenly that she fell.  
  
"Why does this keep happening to me?!" Shadic yelled. She made a fist and punched the floor. She didn't know how many times she did this, and she didn't care. "I didn't do anything to deserve this!" she yelled again. It took a long time before she calmed down, she guessed it was about two hours later. Anger was replaced by fear. Instead of hitting the floor, she was shaking slightly, either from nerves or from the cold. She was sitting against the wall, thinking. She didn't want to stay a servant of GUN for the rest of her life. And she didn't want to simply run away. What Shadic wanted was to make sure that GUN wouldn't bother her, or anyone else, again.  
  
* * * * *   
  
A few more hours later, the truck finally screeched to a halt. This time Shadic wasn't thrown off-balance because she was already seated. The door opened.  
  
"Welcome to your permanent home." Sam said. He stressed the word permanent.   
  
"You wish. This could never be my home. This is my hell. Shadic responded with a snort.  
  
"It's your own fault. If you would just behave, things would be so much easier. You wouldn't even have to be confined to a cell, or be on such tight security. You could practically roam around freely. But before that happens, I need to see a lot of improvement.  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Just take me to my cell now." she stood and stepped out of the truck. It was still raining, and the drops of water felt colder here.  
  
"Making it easier for yourself I see, wise decision."  
  
"Maybe I'd rather walk instead of having your body guards drag me around. So back off." Shadic said angrily.   
  
"You really need an attitude adjustment. I know just who can help with that. Your new trainer."  
  
"Is that supposed to scare me or something? Because it didn't. And in case you haven't noticed, it's still raining and it's getting late. So, if your done blabbing, I'd like to go in."  
  
"As you wish. Tomorrow you restart training." Sam said. He turned to the two guards who had been standing quietly. "You know where to take it. It's about time I went home for the night."  
  
"What, are you home-sick? Do you miss your mommy?" Shadic taunted. Sam didn't say a word. Instead he pulled a remote from his pocket. Shadic prepared herself for the sudden, yet expected, electrical blast. Up until now she had completely forgotten about that golden bracelet around her rist. Like always, the shock and pain overwhelmed her. "Still relying on cheap tricks eh?" Shadic panted from the ground. A few bolts streaked painfully across her body as she stood again. Sam seemed surprised that she still dared to insult him. "That thing's beginning to lose it's touch." Shadic said untruthfully.  
  
"Really? Then maybe we'll have to develop a new one, just for you. And now, goodnight." Sam said this, then left.  
  
"Jerk." Shadic murmured under her breath.  
  
"C'mon furball, let's get goin' sometime tonight." one of the men said. Shadic thought that he looked familiar.  
  
"Hey, your that guy that fell off the stage, aren't you?" she asked.  
  
"Great, it remembers me." he grumbled.   
  
"Call me an it again and I'll make sure that next time you fall off of a ten story building." she warned. He muttered something to his partner, who snickered. He then went inside, followed by Shadic and the second man. After walking for awhile, Shadic noticed that they were going in the opposite direction from where she had been previously held. "Shouldn't we be going that way?"  
  
"No, there's a new sector for prisoners. You'll fit in there." the second man replied.  
  
"You have to share a cell with Joe, he'll like you." the first guard added, then laughed.  
  
"Oh boy, that sounds great." Shadic said sarcastically. In a few more minutes, they entered a new room that looked just like a prison.  
  
"Hey Joe, got a new playmate for ya." the first man said as he unlocked the door. Joe was an orange, male hedgehog, whose quills stuck out at different angles. He looked Shadic over and grinned.  
  
"A girl huh? No arguments from me." he said. The second man pushed Shadic into the cell and shut the door. Afterward both humans left while laughing. Joe approached Shadic and put an arm around her. "Hey girl, what ya in for?" he asked.  
  
"For existing, and if you don't let go of me within the next thirty seconds you'll wish you never knew me." she said.  
  
"Ooh, tough girl are we? I like that." he smirked. Shadic glared at him.  
  
"Times up." she said before elbowing Joe hard in the stomach. He doubled over in pain. "Rule one, don't touch me. Rule two, don't talk to me. Rule three, don't cry too loudly when I kick your behind for breaking either rules one or two."  
  
"Too bad there ain't more girls like you!" Joe said after he could breathe again.  
  
"You'd better watch yourself Joe." an elderly, gray fox said from the opposite cell, "My bet is that if you get on this young lady's nerves she'll kick your ass."  
  
"How's this, you stay on this side of the room, I'll stay over there. Nobody crosses sides, nobody gets hurt." Shadic said.  
  
"Works for me, I like this side better anyway." Joe said. He sat down on his bed.  
  
"So, why are you two here?" Shadic asked both Joe and the fox. If she had to be here for awhile, she might as well be on the good side of those who she had to be around.  
  
"We both learned too much." the old fox said with a sigh.  
  
"Figures don't it?" Joe added as he laid on his back, "Ya get locked away just for knowing things!"  
  
"Then they go and tell our families that we died in an accident."  
  
"What did you find out that got you thrown in prison?" Shadic asked.  
  
"Long story, the old man'll tell ya. I'm going to bed." Joe said. Then he rolled over onto his side to sleep. Shadic waited for the fox to speak.  
  
"Right then," he began, "First, you have to know that GUN is extremely secretive. No one ever knew what they were working on, and most didn't even know it existed anyway. Other organizations hired people who were willing to spy on GUN. Both of us worked here just to find out what we could. Somehow, GUN caught on to our secret, and here we are!"  
  
"Why don't the people who hired you come rescue you then?"   
  
"Well, if everyone thought you've been dead for ten years and you suddenly show up, what do you think would happen?"  
  
"They would probably think that they've lost it." Shadic answered.  
  
"Exactly! And then they would panic. We're supposed to work secretly."  
  
"But that means you'll both be here for the rest of your lives!"  
  
"We knew the risks before we took the job. Besides, I doubt that I have very many years left anyway." he added sadly. "I'm more worried 'bout him." he nodded towards Joe, who had fallen asleep quickly, "He's just a kid stuck in the big world. Doesn't know a damn thing about his job either. More interested in his non-existent love-life."  
  
"You know, it's not impossible to get outta here. No one would have to know that you're still alive. You cold find a place to live away from other people." Shadic said.  
  
"Then why don't you go?" the fox asked slyly.  
  
"I have already, twice. But I've got some pay-back to dish out first this time." she answered. The old fox chuckled softly.  
  
"Your name is Shadic, isn't it?" he said.  
  
"How did you know?" Shadic asked. She was sure that she hadn't mentioned her name yet. The fox chuckled again.  
  
"I know more that just your name. Remember, I used to work here. You may have just been born months ago, but the research and planning was done years earlier, I can remember. You are Project Shadow Beta, GUN's secret weapon of mass destruction. The third result of the attempt at creating the ultimate life. Infused with a Super Emerald to create new special abilities. And vulnerable to electricity. Am I correct?"  
  
"Right on the dot. Well, you know my name, to say the least. What can I call you?"  
  
"Fran is the name. And my old bones are telling me that I need to hit the hay. Goodnight." Fran said. Afterwards he arranged himself on top of his bed and began to sleep. Shadic sat on her bed, but didn't expect to find sleep easily. She was still angry at herself for falling for GUN's cheap trick. She remembered suddenly that in the morning she had to go through training again. What was the point of it anyway? It was no challenge, just a waste of time. She wondered who her new pathetic excuse for a trainer would be, and how quickly she would be able to scare them off. After amusing herself by thinking of ways to torment whoever it would be, she eventually fell asleep. 


	14. A New Foe

Shadic's Escape Chapter 15: A New Foe  
  
Ok, so I've been alittle delayed with this chapter. Between my Exams at school & my need to play Sonic Heroes at home, who could blame me? ^_^  
  
& I thought that you guys might wanna be fore-warned, an explaination to what Nena did in the last chapter WILL come, but later on in the story.   
  
A NEW FOE  
  
Early the next morning, everyone was awoken by the loud creaking of the metal door being opened.  
  
"Come on you." one of the men from the night before said to Shadic. She was still half-asleep. Clumsily, she got up from the bed.   
  
"Wha' time is it?" she asked groggily.   
  
"Time for you to get moving before I lose my patience." he answered. Shadic moaned, then followed the man. Soon they came to the training room which she had previously left in total chaos. "Have fun." the man said in a teasing way.  
  
"Go jump off a cliff." Shadic replied in the same tone before entering the room. It no longer looked like a forest, now it was simply an empty room. Across from her, a pure white male hedgehog was leaning against the wall. Shadic immediately disliked him, and he didn't seem happy to see her either. He had a long scar across his right eye that ended at his cheek. Around his waist he wore a sort of belt that held a whip and a sword.  
  
"You're late." he said.  
  
"It's not like anyone told me when I had to be where." Shadic said back.  
  
"Don't be late again unless you want to be punished." he told her as he rested his hand on the handle of his whip.  
  
"Right, so, you my trainer?" she asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You got a name or something? Or should I just call you Mr. Trying-To-Be-Scary-But-Looks-Like-A-Wimp?"  
  
"My name is Rain, Miss If-I-Insult-My-Superior-Again-I'll-End-Up-Dead. My job is to teach you your place, and to eliminate your unruly behavior."  
  
"Uh-huh, put in English that means your supposed to break me. Might as well quit now 'cause it's not gonna happen. And as a side-note, you couldn't kill me, because your boss wouldn't want all that money used on me to go bye-bye, get it?" Shadic reminded him. In one swift movement, Rain removed his sword from his belt and held it so that it's point was an inch from Shadic's face.  
  
"Get this, I abide by my own rules, you will too. Or would you rather be speared?" he said. Shadic stared at the sword that was threatening her, and was puzzled. The use of swords had die out thousands of years ago. Hardly anyone owned one anymore, yet alone used it. Why would a GUN trainer choose such an outdated weapon?  
  
"And they say that I have a bad temper." she said, "All right, fine, what do we gotta do first?" she asked with a sigh. Rain returned his sword to his side.  
  
"Finally, a step in the right direction. Lesson one, learn to defeat opponents without relying on your special abilities."   
  
"Well that's completely useless. I have abilities for a reason, so I can use them!" Shadic exclaimed. Rain shook his head.  
  
"You need to learn more about yourself. History 101, the Chaos and Super Emeralds can be deactivated when they are near the Master Emerald. The reason you can use those powers is because of the Super Emerald inside you. If, by chance, your enemy had the Master Emerald, or a part of it, do you know what will happen to you?"  
  
"Power down." Shadic guessed. She had never thought of that possibility before.  
  
"Right."  
  
"So, what do I gotta fight against?"  
  
"Not what, who." Rain said. He removed his weapons and tossed them to the side. "I shall be your opponent. When you can defeat me, you can move on to the next lesson. Any questions?"  
  
"Yeah, are you crazy?" Shadic asked.  
  
"Begin lesson." Rain said, ignoring her question. He stood still, so Shadic made the first move. She raised her fist, with the idea of hitting Rain square in the nose. Rain must have known her plan though, because instead of getting hit, he caught her fist, spun behind her, and held her arm behind her back. "You might as well be telling me what you're going to do. Seems that you've grown too accustomed to fighting with your powers." he let go of her arm. "Try again."  
  
* * * * *  
  
The lesson continued all day and into the night. So far, Shadic had not been successful in defeating Rain. He seemed to know what she was going to do before even she knew. She received a number of injures. Rain only suffered a few bruises. At this moment, he was standing as it nothing had happened. Shadic was completely exhausted. She was panting, sweating, and in a few places, bleeding. Not to mention hungry, because she hadn't yet eaten anything.  
  
"For a weapon of mass destruction, I'd have to say that you are pretty pathetic." Rain said. Shadic let out a low growl. The only thought in her mind was to beat him. The urge to complete her self-appointed mission was so intense that it could have driven her insane. She was unable to play by Rain's rules any longer. Like him, she had her own set of rules.  
  
"Chaos Control!" she yelled. She was behind Rain in an instant, and she performed a Homing Attack. The force drove Rain Face-first onto the floor. He rose slowly, having being surprised by the sneak attack. He had acquired an injury of his own, which began to bleed.  
  
"The point of the exercise was to not use your powers." Rain said as he wiped some blood off of his white fur.  
  
"Tell it to someone who cares. I'm outta here." Shadic said. She headed for the door.  
  
"Not so fast, you don't leave until I tell you to do so." Rain said. Shadic kept walking. She would teach him a lesson tomorrow. Before she had reached the door, she felt a searing pain in her shoulder. She cried out in pain and grasped her hurting shoulder. "Never turn your back on an undefeated opponent." Rain said. While Shadic had been leaving, he had retrieved his sword and stabbed her from behind. "Since you cheated, I figured that it would only be fair if I did too."  
  
"What is your problem?!" Shadic asked through gritted teeth.  
  
"You are my problem." Rain answered as he cleaned the pale green liquid from the blade of his sword. "Get out of my sight. You'd better show improvement tomorrow." he said coldly. Shadic stumbled out the door. The guard had been waiting to take her back to the prison sector.  
  
"So, did you have fun?" he asked with a laugh. Shadic glared menacingly at him.   
  
"Shut up." she said slowly and clearly.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When Shadic re-entered her cell, she received looks of worry from Joe and Fran.  
  
"What happened to you?" Joe asked.  
  
"Nothing." Shadic answered.  
  
"A little bit of nothing means a whole lot of something." Fran said. Shadic sat on her bed and began to tear the sheet into strips to wrap around her wounds. It was hard work because the slightest movement made her should hurt worse than it already did.  
  
"C'mon girl, what happened?" Joe asked again.  
  
"Training." Shadic answered simply.  
  
"Against what?!"   
  
"Rain, okay? Don't you ever shut up?" Shadic snapped.  
  
"Rain?!" Joe repeated," Gees! Who the heck are you?"  
  
"Don't you ever do your homework boy?" Fran asked. Joe thought for a moment.  
  
"Uh, no." he answered.  
  
"Take a guess, it ain't that hard. Who do you think she is?"  
  
"A really hot girl." Joe said dreamily. Shadic paused in cleaning her injures.  
  
"Don't make me hit you again." she warned. Fran sighed.  
  
"Who's the only on you can think of that could survive a battle against Rain?" he asked.  
  
"I dunno. Wait, yeah I do, that experiment thing." Joe said.  
  
"There you go." Fran said. In a few seconds, Joe got it.  
  
"Ohhh." he said slowly. Unwilling to be part of the conversation, Shadic finished tightening the strip of cloth around her shoulder, and laid down to rest her aching body before she had to continue training the next day. 


	15. Rain's Soft Spot

Shadic's Escape Chapter 16: Rain's Soft Spot  
  
I re-read this whole story from the begining the other day, & noticed how many typo's I've made! Sorry 'bout that folks. I don't like to proof-read things carefully right away, & my spell-checker is kinda in German... -_-'  
  
RAIN'S SOFT SPOT  
Again, the guard came the next morning.  
"Rise and shine." he chimed.  
"I'm awake." Shadic answered. She hadn't gotten any sleep at all that night. Her injures had kept her awake, so she had lain, staring at the wall, thinking. She had attempted to find a flaw in Rain's battle strategy.  
  
"C'mon already, sometime this century." the man said impatiently. When Shadic got to her feet, she removed the pieces of cloth that had served as bandages because they had been soaked. But they had done their job, and the bleeding had stopped. Like the previous day, she was led to the training room. And, again, Rain was leaning against the wall, waiting.  
"On time today, good." he said with neither a tone of displeasure nor of approval.  
"Yeah, alert the media." Shadic responded.  
"Same rules as yesterday. Begin." Rain said. He waited for her to make a move, but she didn't.  
"Why don't you go first?" Shadic said with a smirk.  
"Fine by me." Rain charged at Shadic, like she figured he would. When he was about to hit her, she used her speed to move out of the way and tripped him.  
"Not so great on the offense are ya!" she said with a laugh. Rain let out an angry growl. He spun around so that his legs hit hers, causing her to fall. She fell onto her back with a thud. By the time she got a chance to get up, Rain was already standing. He pinned her to the floor by putting one foot on her chest.  
"Not so great on the defense, are you?" he mimicked. "And you cheated." he accused.  
"So what? It didn't help me any, so it didn't matter."  
"It didn't matter?" Rain repeated angrily. He let her get up.  
"That's what I said. What, do you have a hearing problem or something?" Shadic asked. "It didn't matter!" she yelled.  
"Yes it did!" Rain said. He slapped her. "You disobeyed me again."  
"You can't tell me what I can and can't do." Shadic said after she put her hand over her now stinging cheek where she had been slapped. "Like I said before, you're wasting your time." she too hit him across the face, "You're all wasting your time because I will never reduce myself to being your slave!" she yelled as loud as she could.  
"You just don't know when to quit do you?" Rain wrapped his hand tightly around Shadic's throat. She was light enough that he could lift her off of the floor. She struggled unsuccessfully to breathe. "You turned out to be a bigger pain that I thought." Rain said in a low voice, "As of now you have two choices. Either shape-up and do what you were created to do, or be put into hibernation. If you want to be broken physically before spiritually that's fine with me. But I suggest that you do yourself some good and stop being an idiot. This isn't a childish game, this is life. If you blow it, you won't get any second chances. Do I make myself clear?"  
"No." Shadic croaked. Rain threw her into the wall. Afterward she hit the floor on her hands and knees.  
"Care to answer me correctly?" he asked as she regained her breath.  
"I don't have to listen to the likes of you." she growled.  
"You are greatly mistaken. That's your problem. Don't worry, you'll learn sooner or later."  
"Yeah right." Shadic said. Rain kicked her in the side.  
"Learn or perish. It's as simple as that." he said. Shadic wrapped her arms around her stomach. Across from them, the metal door slid open, and in walked non-other than Sam. Oh man, here's trouble. Shadic thought. He beckoned Rain over to him.  
"This isn't working well, is it? I can hear you two all the way down to my office!" Sam hissed.  
"Every road has it's bumps." Rain said simply, "If your creation doesn't yield by the end of the week, my guess is that it will slow down from starvation. I doubt it will go past that."  
"You'd better not cause it any long-term damage. It would take years before we could afford to re-do this project."  
"If you were smart you would re-start. But create something without a mind of its own. That was your blunder."  
"As of now that's impossible. The closest we can get is to delete their memories. But in all the test-runs the subject also died."  
"Then you should find a way that won't fail, shouldn't you?" Rain said with a smirk.  
"In the future, perhaps. Carry on with your work then." Sam said. Finally, he left. Rain went back to the far side of the room. Shadic had stood again. She was still in some pain, but she didn't show it, she'd live after all.  
"What'd he want?" she asked.  
"Nothing that you need to know of." he answered. "Since you're standing, I assume that we can resume with the lesson."  
"How 'bout now right now? I've got my whole life-time to learn this junk that I don't need." Shadic said.  
"If you keep that attitude of yours up, your life-time won't be near long enough."  
"Oh come on. Technically, I'm only a few months old. Someone my age shouldn't be doing this stuff anyway." she said. Rain rolled his eyes.  
"You skipped fifteen years. You're sixteen, more than old enough." he said. Besides, he thought to himself sadly, it didn't matter for me...  
"I should sue you people for child abuse." Shadic muttered, "Even if I am sixteen." she said even quieter so Rain couldn't hear. * * * * *  
The training session ended late at night again. Rain had gotten Shadic's temper up high enough that she fought without thinking, and that allowed her to finally pass lesson one. Anger can be used for or against you, Rain had said. By now, Shadic was back in her cell, content with her success. Rain was heading to his own room without any emotion. He didn't care that Shadic had passed his lesson because it made no difference for him what-so-ever. Unlike most of those who went home after work, he actually lived there. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a young girl, maybe eight years old. The child had run full-speed into him, nearly causing him to lose his balance.  
"Daddy, Eddie's teasing me again!" the little girl cried.  
"Eddie!" Rain roared. A little boy, light gray in color, crawled out from hiding behind the couch. He hesitantly walked up to his father with his tail between his legs.  
"Yeah Dad?" he asked slowly. Rain picked him up by the scruff of the neck so he would look at him.  
"You leave your little sister alone, you hear me?"  
"Yes sir." Eddie answered. Rain put him down again.  
"You realize that you're grounded again?"  
"Uh-huh."  
"Then get going." Rain pointed to Eddie's room. The child went and closed his door. "And why aren't you in bed?" Rain asked the cream-colored eight year old.  
"I was waiting for you!" the girl said happily. She hugged Rain's leg, because that was all the higher she could reach, then skipped off to her room.  
"I'll never understand kids." Rain said to himself. He examined the room to see what damage his kids had caused this time. The worse he found was a picture that had been knocked off the wall. Rain picked it up. It was the drawing that Eddie had made when he was a baby. One could make out a picture of a hedgehog-like shape among the mass of colored squiggles. The glass frame had been broken. He took the picture out and threw the frame away. He noticed that the paper seemed heavier than it should have been. A photograph had been taped to the back with the blank side turned up. Rain sat down in his chair and worked the photo from the mass of tape that held it to the paper, being careful not to tear his son's drawing. "My God..." Rain murmured when the photo had come free. It showed two hedgehog's celebrating a wedding. His wedding. He was dancing with a pretty soft- yellow colored girl; his now dead wife.  
"I was kinda hoping that you wouldn't find that." Eddie said through a crack in the door. Rain stared at the picture. After his wife had been killed he had burned all the pictures he had of her, or so he thought. Eddie came out of his room, figuring that he wouldn't get in trouble this time. "I miss Mom." he said sadly.  
"You should go back to bed... It's getting late." Rain said quietly. He heard the door close, meaning Eddie was back in his room. Rain got up and placed the photograph face-down in a drawer. "I'm not ready to remember you yet." 


	16. Obstacal Course

Shadic's Escape Chapter 17: Obstacal Course  
  
Well, this is the last chapter I have typed up. Awww, man, that means I gotta start typing again! NOOOOOOOOOOO!  
  
Oh well... Good news this time around, I actually read through this chapter before putting it online, so there shouldn't be as many typos! (I hope)  
  
OBSTACAL COURSE  
  
The next day started the same way as always. The same man took Shadic to the same room to do the same thing.  
  
"So what's the plan for today? Since I kicked your butt yesterday and all." Shadic said to Rain. She was still in a good mood after beating him yesterday.   
  
"Obstacle course." Rain answered. Shadic looked around the empty room.   
  
"Uh, don't you need obstacles for an obstacle course?"   
  
"I don't recall saying that it would be held in here. We have to go in the woods." Rain said. He led her back through the door, down the hallway, and out the back door. Shadic shivered. The early morning air was cold. Rain shook his head. "I can't believe you're cold." he said in a rude, teasing sort of tone. The two walked on, Rain in the lead.   
  
"I can't believe you're cold." Shadic mocked quietly behind Rain's back. Finally they stopped at a fork in the road. One path was marked by a blue string, the other with a red one.  
  
"Both of us have to go through a path. Each one has different obstacles. You may use all of your powers. But you can't use Chaos Control to get to the end, because you wouldn't learn anything if you did. If you can finish before sundown, you progress to lesson three." Rain explained, "Choose your path."  
  
"Um," Shadic thought for a second, "I'll take the blue one." she decided.  
  
"Fine. The string marks the path. If you lose sight of it, you're screwed. But that may not matter. I designed these courses and I can assure you that it won't be a walk through the park."  
  
"That's not fair, you'll already know what's on your path!" Shadic complained.  
  
"Life's not fair, deal with it." Rain said, "You know that you're wasting valuable time?" he asked. Shadic shrugged, it couldn't be that hard. Little kids made obstacle course for fun. She walked to the starting point of her path.  
  
"See ya." she said. Rain and Shadic started down their different courses. It was pretty foggy, and the air was thick and wet. "So far so good." There was nothing out of the ordinary yet. Just mud, trees, the occasional rock. The trail kept this pattern for some time. Shadic began to get a little nervous. Rain had acted like this would be a real challenge, but so far, nothing. It started to get warmer, meaning that the morning was beginning to disappear. The blue string still marked the way, and up ahead as far as Shadic could see, it was still going straight. She started to pick up the pace; first walking quickly, then jogging, next running, eventually going full-speed. There had to be something up there, so she might as well meet it head on sooner rather than later. The sting suddenly veered to the right. A moments later she found out why. The road led to a shear drop off. "Whoa!" She stopped running, but skidded several yards before actually halting mere inches from the cliffs edge. "Phew... That was a little close." she said with a sigh of relief.   
  
She followed the string to the right. It led to an old wooden bridge. The ropes looked so old that it seemed that they barely held up the weight of the bridge itself. But according to her string guide, she would have to cross it. Shadic gripped the rope handles and slowly started across it. Each board creaked when she stepped on it. The ropes suddenly made a loud snapping sound. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Shadic knew that the bridge was breaking. "Darn it!" she yelled. She managed to hold on to one rope. She crashed into the opposite cliff side and was momentarily dazed. She had hit the rock wall on the side that her injured shoulder was on, and it began to hurt again, causing her to wince. After blinking the dust out of her eyes, Shadic started to climb up the rope, gritting her teeth against the pain that had crept back into her wound. When she finally reached the top, she closed her eyes and waited for the pain to pass. It took just a few moments. "Should have seen that one coming." she criticized herself. Without wasting any more time, she continued onward.  
  
Again the path was dead straight. But now at least Shadic knew better than to run blindly into the unknown. Soon she came to a body of water. It was impossible to tell how deep it was; there didn't even seem to be a bottom. She approached the water and put her hand in, and immediately drew it back. The water was ice cold. Shadic knew that she would have to cross it. Walking around it would take too much time that she didn't have to spare. There were plenty of trees around, and if she had something sharp she could have made a raft. But she didn't have any tools. She would have to swim across.   
  
The surrounding trees gave her an idea though, especially a particularly large one. She could be able to climb it, and crawl out onto the longest branch, which would talk her out at least a quarter of the way across the lake. Then there would be less distance that would have to be swum. She climbed up the old tree with ease.   
  
"Hey, I'm getting to be a pretty dang good climber!" she observed. She walked out to the longest branch and gazed at the icy water below. A small voice in the back of her mind kept telling her to turn around now before she drowned herself. But Shadic knew that that was only the small trace of natural hedgehog instincts that, for some strange reason, was still coded in her. She could swim, she just didn't really like to.   
  
She dove in before the feeble voice had another chance to convince her otherwise. Shadic found that she couldn't move right away one she was in the water. The cold was paralyzing, yet at the same time it felt as though hundreds of knives were stuck into her skin. Knowing that if she didn't do anything, she would drown, she willed her numbing limbs to move. By the time she was close to the other side, her entire body was completely numb. Climbing up the muddy bank proved to be hard work. Once on solid ground again, Shadic curled up and tried to stop shivering while waiting for her frozen body to dry out and warm up again.  
  
It seemed to take forever for the numbness to go away. While she waited for warmth to return, Shadic realized that she was very hungry. True, she knew that she was getting hungry yesterday, but it had only now hit her that it had been days since she had last ate anything. The question was, if she had been offered food, would she have really taken it after what had happened last time?   
  
She thought this over for awhile before getting up to continue the course. Like before, the blue string led her basically straight. But this time, it went straight for much longer, possibly for hours. Shadic yawned. This was the most boring type of training that she thought was possible. After awhile, she thought that she saw something.  
  
"About time." she murmured. To her surprise, she found that it was not another obstacle. It was a young gray wolf. The wolf sat in the center of the path, and seemed to be shaking with excitement over something.  
  
"Hi! What's your name? My name's Kiki. Everyone says that's a weird name but I like it. Why wouldn't I? It's my name! Where're you going? I was chasing a bug, and I caught it and I was going to eat it but my mom yelled at me and said 'You don't know where that's been' but I did know where it came from. Then she told me to go do something else so I sat here and waited for someone to come!" the female wolf said all this very fast and didn't seem to stop for a breath.  
  
"Um, that's nice. I gotta go, so bye." Shadic said. She had barely been able to comprehend what Kiki had said.  
  
"Wait! Can I come? I'll be good. And you still didn't answer my questions. What's your name and where are you going, huh huh huh? C'mon tell me, please!" Kiki said just as fast as before, but added bouncing up and down to her rambling.   
  
"If you wanna follow, I guess I can't stop you. But I'm really busy, so don't distract me. My name's Shadic, and I don't really know where I'm going." Shadic said. She was hoping that the wolf would choose not to come along.  
  
"Okay! I won't distract you. How come you don't know where you're going? That's weird."  
  
"I'm following an obstacle course, I have to go where ever that string leads me." Shadic pointed to the string on he ground and began walking again. Kiki sat with her head tilted to one side for a moment.  
  
"Oooh, so it's a game! I wanna play!" Kiki said, then she went after Shadic. Walking straight didn't seem to be good enough for her though, because she constantly bounced all over the place and ran in circles. Shadic rolled her eyes in annoyance.   
  
"Remember that little thing I said about not being distracting?" she said.   
  
"Yeah, but I'm not being distracting. I'm just running around and around and around and whoa, now I'm dizzy!" Kiki fell over her own feet. She jumped up again and staggered along. "Wow, I wanna do that again!" she began to spin yet again. Shadic moaned.  
  
"Can't you do that somewhere else?"  
  
"I can do this anywhere, it's fun! I bet I can catch my tail." Kiki now snapped her teeth at her furry tail, trying to capture it in her jaws. Shadic shook her head. She kept going while Kiki growled and tried to bite her own tail.   
  
Unexpectantly and suddenly, the ground beneath Shadic gave away to reveal a large, deep pit. She yelped in surprise as she fell into the hole. From the bottom, she looked back up to where she had been a moment ago. Kiki appeared over the edge with her tail in her mouth.   
  
"I 'old 'ou I 'ould 'atch my tail!" she said happily.  
  
"Great. Congratulations." Shadic said as she rubbed her back and stood up. Kiki spat her tail out.  
  
"What are you doing down there?" she asked.  
  
"What's it look like? I fell, duh." Shadic answered angerly.   
  
"Oooh... Is this part of the game?" Kiki asked with her head tilted to one side. She tended to do that when she asked a question.  
  
"It is not a game!" Shadic said loudly. Kiki paused for a moment.  
  
"You're grouchy. When I'm grouchy, my mom makes me take a nap. You need to take a nap."  
  
"Isn't your mom gonna wonder were you are?" Shadic asked in a desperate attempt to get rid of Kiki.  
  
"I don't know..." Kiki answered very slowly, for once.  
  
"Why don't you go find out?"  
  
"'Cause she'll come looking for me. She's good at finding me. She just smells the ground like this." Kiki put her nose to the ground and walked around, smelling as she went. Soon, she was out of Shadic's window of vision. "Hey! I think I see my mom coming now!" came Kiki's voice.  
  
"Kiki! What are you doing way out here all alone?" her mom said. Or at least Shadic assumed that it was her mom, because, she couldn't see either of them. Judging from the women's tone of voice, she was very upset.  
  
"But I'm not alone Mom. I was walking with her." Kiki's head appeared over the edge of the hole, along with her mother's.  
  
Great, Shadic thought, she looks ticked.  
  
Kiki's mother leaped into the hole and glared at Shadic.  
  
"Kidnapper." she snarled.  
  
"Now wait a second, she followed me." Shadic said in defense.  
  
"My daughter wouldn't follow a rat like you."  
  
"Kiki, tell her." Shadic pleaded to the girl. Kiki didn't say anything, but shook her head vigorously as if she were afraid to talk in front of her mother.  
  
"Do not speak to my daughter, you rat!" she growled. She extended her sharp claws and jumped at Shadic. Shadic ducked, and Kiki's mother sliced the dirt wall instead of her head.  
  
"Holy! Okay, I think we have a misunderstanding here. How 'bout we calm down and talk about this?" Shadic offered in what she hoped was a kind, inviting tone.  
  
"How about I skin you alive instead?" Kiki's mother said in response. She repeatedly slashed her claws at Shadic. As Shadic did her best to dodge her attacks while in such a tight space, she wondered if the wolves were also obstacles, or if it were just coincidence. She soon ran out of room to dodge the angry mother, and the wolf's clawed paw connected with the side of Shadic's face, leaving long, ragged wounds that stung but could be dealt with. Shadic felt a trickle of blood running down her cheek.  
  
Maybe it was the different coloration of her blood that startled Kiki's mother, because at that moment, she backed off. She eyed her carefully.   
  
"You must be a product of GUN's experiments." she said with disgust, "Your kind is not welcomed here. Return to where you came from and let us be." she finished. The wolf used her long claws to climb out of the hole. "Come on Kiki, lets go home." She vanished from view.  
  
"Sorry, she does that a lot. See ya!" Kiki said to Shadic before leaving her stranded in the hole.  
  
"This is not good..." Shadic murmured. As good of a climber as she was, the dirt walls didn't provide any hand or footholds. And Rain had said that she wasn't allowed to use Chaos Control, and she wasn't very willing to upset him and receive a close encounter with his sword again. She sat down. "Great... Just great. Now what?"   
  
She leaned back so she was supported by the wall. Some dirt clots crumbed and fell where Kiki's mother had clawed it. But behind the falling dirt was not more earth like there should have been. Shadic curiously got up to look through the hole that was there. She could feel cold air coming from the other side, and hear the gentle tinkling of running water.   
  
Shadic broke the thin wall, and after the dust cleared she found a cave. To her surprise, she also found a second blue string on the floor. So this must be an alternate route that she could take.  
  
"Cool, that solves my problem!" she said happily. She continued her journey through the dark cave. In fact, the darkness was complete; she couldn't even see her nose in front of her face. She could tell that she was going downhill though, and it got colder with each step. "At this rate, I could walk straight off of a cliff and I probably wouldn't even notice." Shadic said with a chuckle. Her voice and footsteps echoed off the walls, along with that constant dripping sound. Somewhere on the ground, a mouse squeaked and scurried away. She had probably stepped on its tail.  
  
Ahead of her, she could see light. "I hope this is the light at the end of the tunnel." She hurried towards the light. The sudden transfer from darkness to light was so bright that it was dizzying. She brought her hand up to shield her eyes, and when her eyes adjusted, she saw a beautiful sight.   
  
Everything in the cave was incased in ice. Stalactites, stalagmites, walls, and floors sparkled. Tiny streams of water trickled down the frozen walls and into little shimmering pools. "Wow..." Shadic said in awe.  
  
She kept going for about half an hour, slipping and sliding occasionally on the ice. She began to notice a feeling of slight nausea that came and went now and then. And she was tired. She recognized these as symptoms of either dehydration, malnutrition, or both. And after three days of not eating or drinking, it was no wonder.  
  
Then, as if someone had said it out loud, Shadic understood something that was so obvious, it was amazing that she hadn't caught on earlier. These people, Sam, Rain, all of GUN, knew that she didn't need any of this training. Anything that these lessons had to teach was already encrypted in her mind. They also knew that she wasn't going to show them what she could really do. So, in return, she wasn't allowed to eat, which would eventually make her weak. And on top of that, she was made to do extreme physical tasks, which would weaken her faster. Then they would have the upper hand.  
  
Figuring that tomorrow she might not have any energy to spare, Shadic knew that tonight would have to be the night when GUN would get their pay-back which they so richly deserved. As she begun to think through her plan, she passed a stalagmite and broke a small piece off. It would be useful later, and it was small enough that she could hide it in her fist without causing suspicion.  
  
The trail began to tilt upward, and there wasn't as much ice. Before long, Shadic was back outside. The sky was beginning to darken, and the air was becoming cooler.  
  
"Oh, no." Shadic murmured in panic. She was almost out of time, and she didn't know how much farther she had left to go. Without hesitation, she ran, hoping that she would get to the end of the course before nightfall.  
  
Sooner than she had expected, Shadic finally reached the end. Or, at least it seemed like the end, because there was a sort of finish line drawn into the dirt. But, as far as she knew, Rain wasn't there. She had thought that he would be. She looked around for him, and instead found a folded piece of paper that laid beneath a stone. Doubting that it was meant for anyone else, she picked it up. It read:  
  
Good, you've gotten this far. But you're not done yet. Now you   
  
must come back. Remember, the clock is ticking.  
  
Shadic's first emotion was more panic. Sundown was only minutes away; she couldn't get back in time. But then her panic ceased, and she smirked.  
  
"Chaos Control!" she yelled. She reappeared in front of the GUN gates and ran through them, eventually coming to the front doors. Rain was waiting there.  
  
"So, you found the catch?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, you said that I couldn't use Chaos Control to get to the end of the course, but you didn't say anything about using it to come back." Shadic answered, clearly pleased with herself that she had caught that point.  
  
"Fair enough." Rain said. He entered the building, and Shadic followed. She wasn't surprised to meet the guard whose name she did not know inside. Rain started down a separate hallway. He glanced over his shoulder. "You had better get your sleep tonight. I expect that you are exhausted." he said with a cold gleam in his eye. Shadic didn't make a reply as she watched him go, but instead smirked to herself. He would be the one who would be exhausted after her plan began. 


	17. Shadic's Plan

Shadic's Escape Chapter 18: Shadic's Plan  
  
Who says that you need pointy objects to inflict pain on someone? Just make'em sit still & type for a few hours straight! *note to self: remember to move wrists everyone in awhile while typing for a long time*  
  
Well, at least the next chapter is done! & I proof-read it too! ^_^ Do I get a cookie now?  
  
SHADIC'S PLAN  
  
Shadic had been in her cell for a while now, replaying what she was going to attempt soon in her mind. She sensed that she was being watched, and looked up to see that Joe, who was sitting on top of his bed, was indeed watching her.  
  
"What?" Shadic asked.  
  
"You ok?" he asked simply.  
  
"Yeah, why?" she said curiously.  
  
"One, you're usually asleep by now. Two, you haven't reminded me not to talk to you yet. Three, you've been sitting there for the last few hours muttering to yourself. And four, you look all pale." Joe answered as he counted off his fingers. Shadic raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Since when do you pay attention to what I'm doing?" she asked. Joe shrugged innocently. Shadic sighed. She got up from her bed to look through the bars into Fran's cell. "Hey, do you think that people had started leaving yet?" she asked him.  
  
"A few, maybe. Except for the night-shift guards," he answered. Shadic went back to her bed to retrieve the piece of stalagmite.  
  
"What's going on with you lately?" Joe asked. Shadic smiled and tossed the stalagmite up and down.  
  
"I hope you're ready for an adventure, 'cause GUN's getting their payback tonight, and you're gonna help," she told him. She went to examine the door. Like she had thought, beneath the slot where card-keys were inserted, was a hole where a key would fit in perfectly. She used the small pointed stone to pick the lock. It swung open in moments.  
  
"I am?" Joe asked.  
  
"Yep." Shadic took hole of his wrist and pulled him out of the cell, then began to unlock Fran's cell. "And if you don't, you're gonna miss out on everything."  
  
"Just what are you planning to do?" Fran asked as his cell door opened.  
  
"We're gonna cause the biggest jailbreak of all time!"  
  
"What?" Fran and Joe exclaimed in unison.  
  
"Don't tell me that you'd rather stay here." Shadic said in disbelief.  
  
"Are you nuts?" Joe asked. Shadic shrugged.  
  
"Maybe. C'mon, we have a lot of people to free," she insisted. She went towards the door that led out into the hall and rested her hand on the handle. She waited for Fran and Joe to follow also. Joe let out a low whistle and gave Fran a worried look, then looked back at Shadic.  
  
"I think you might've trained a little too hard today. What you're saying is completely crazy. Maybe you should lay down and get some rest, ya know?"  
  
"I'm not crazy! Listen, I just feel like I gotta do this. If you won't help me, fine."  
  
"You don't have to do anything." Fran said wisely. Both he and Joe thought that Shadic was simply stressed-out. Shadic let her hand slowly slip off the handle, and looked at both of them sadly.  
  
"It's impossible for you to understand how I feel. There are probably hundreds of innocent people locked away here, and I think it's up to me to set them free. I was created for the sole purpose of hurting all the people on the planet. But I want to use my life to save those same people. And now I want to make it clear that that's my choice. I thought that you would have wanted to be a part of this, but if you don't want to then you can stay here and rot for all I care!" her voice echoed off of the walls, then there was silence.  
  
"Now that you've given that little speech, I think I'll come along." Fran said. He closed his eyes, "It couldn't hurt to be able to see the sky again before I'm food for the worms."  
  
"Thank you." Shadic said gratefully. Fran stood next to her, and both looked expectantly at Joe. He crossed his arms and shook his head.  
  
"I think I'll take my chances here," he said.  
  
"Boy, have you been here so long that you've forgotten what freedom's like?" Fran asked him.  
  
"Have you been here so long that you've forgotten that when you try to run away you'll just get caught and be worse off?" Joe said back.  
  
"You know better than to talk to me like that boy!" Fran said angrily. He stepped towards him, but Shadic put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Let's just go, he doesn't have to come if he doesn't want to," she whispered. Fran nodded understandingly. So they left Joe behind and started wandering through the halls.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Do you know where you're going?" Fran asked.  
  
"Kinda…" Shadic answered slowly.  
  
"You don't have a clue, eh?"  
  
"Nope," she admitted. Fran chuckled.  
  
"Up one floor and to the left," he said confidently.  
  
"How'd you kn-" Shadic began before Fran held up a hand to silence her.  
  
"Worked here for a few years, remember?"  
  
"Would you happen to know where the keys to this place are? Or is that asking too much?"  
  
"Do birds know which way is south?" he responded.  
  
"So where is it?"  
  
"Where else? In the hands of a guard." Fran said. Shadic groaned. Fran chuckled again and stopped walking. Shadic instinctively halted at his side. "Now I didn't say that we couldn't get it did I? See, I keep track of which guard is at what post, and the one I'm talking about isn't the brightest color in the crayon box. Wouldn't know friend from foe. So all I've got to do is dress up as another guard and offer to watch over his post for the night. Easy as thawing an ice block out in the desert."  
  
"What do I do?" Shadic asked. A gleam appeared in Fran's eyes.  
  
"Just be yourself, and follow my lead," he answered. He led Shadic further down the hall to a large storage room.   
  
Once inside, he began to look for something. Shadic stood watch to make sure they weren't found by someone who may stroll through the halls on a trip to the bathroom.  
  
"Ha!" came Fran's voice. "Found it." He came out from behind a small mountain of junk, dragging with him an old GUN uniform. He slipped it on with little difficulty. "Bah, I look ridiculous in this don't I?" he asked.  
  
"You look like an idiot all right." Shadic agreed.  
  
"Ah well, at least I look the part. And just wait until you see your costume." Fran said before disappearing behind the teetering junk pile again.  
  
"Hey, I thought you said that I just had to be myself. You didn't say anything about playing dress-up!" Shadic reminded him.  
  
"I didn't tell any lies either. At the moment your a prisoner right? And a stubborn one at that." he added.  
  
"You say that like it's a crime to stick up for myself." she said with a shrug, "So what's the moral of the story?"  
  
"Gee, aren't they teaching you kids anything in school these days?" Fran said as he continued rummaging through box after box.  
  
"Couldn't say, I've never gone remember?"  
  
"Well, that explains a lot."  
  
"Watch it!"  
  
"Hey," ran came up from a box he was searching through and waved a night stick at Shadic, "don't talk to Uncle Fran like that when he's got a stick."  
  
"Alright, alright." Shadic gave in. "So what'cha looking for anyway?"  
  
"Learn a little patience will you? It's been years since I've last went on a scavenger hunt, and I don't have your energy anymore."  
  
"We don't have all night ya know."  
  
"Now what did I just tell you? Ah, here it is!" Fran announced. He came back into sight with a pair of shiny handcuffs. "Heh, the guard gets the goofy looking uniform; the jail bird gets the restraints!"  
  
"Lucky me..." Shadic said with a frown.  
  
"Come here and let me put'em on you."  
  
"Do I have to?" Shadic complained.  
  
"Now!" Fran ordered loud enough so that his voice must have carried farther than was needed.  
"Not so loud!" I hope you know what you're doing." Shadic put her hands behind her back and let Fran put the handcuffs on her.  
  
"There, very befitting." Fran said when he was finished.  
  
"It's uncomfortable and if I fall I'll land flat on my face." Shadic complained again.  
  
"That's the basic point. Now we both look like idiots."  
  
"Ok, don't rub it in. We'd better go before we get caught."  
  
"Right. Now remember, we've gotta make this convincing."  
  
"This'll be the easy part." Shadic said.   
  
The two left the storage room and climbed a flight of stairs. They walked through a set of doors labeled prison sector C. Shadic was shocked to find that all of the cells were filled with mere children. As she stared at all of them, sadness and anger built up inside of her. She must have slowed her pace, because Fran tapped her lightly on the shoulder with his nightstick and nodded at another guard who was watching their approach.  
  
"Pay attention." Fran murmured out the side of his mouth.  
  
"Hey, are you authorized to be on this floor?" the young man questioned.  
  
"Are you authorized to interfere with my business?" Fran countered.  
  
"Is that a trick question?" the man said blankly.  
  
"I have to transfer this prisoner to another cell." Fran explained. The man thought about this and looked Shadic over.  
  
"Ain't you that thing that's dangerous?" he asked her.  
  
"Very good, stupid human! You win a prize!" Shadic responded with fake praise. The man scratched his head thoughtfully.  
  
"You don't seem very dangerous to me." he declared.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Shadic challenged, "If I wasn't in these handcuffs I swear I'd change your mind."  
  
"Then why don't you use your magical warping powers to get out of'em?"  
  
"Because," Fran interjected, "she knows that an alarm goes off whenever Chaos Control is detected on this property." He said this more to Shadic than to the guard because he knew that in reality, she didn't know about the alarm system.  
  
"She must have been snooping around on our computer to know that. That's worth a heavy punishment ya know." the man informed.  
  
"Exactly right, that's why she's being moved to this sector." Fran answered, deciding to go along with this story.  
  
"Well, then lock her up and get back to our own post so I can get back to my nap."  
  
"Um, oh right...right." Fran said slowly. He glanced at Shadic, and she gave a little nod. "Do you have the key?" he asked the guard. He responded by tossing him a ring of keys. Fran caught them and opened the nearest empty cell for Shadic.  
  
"You do know what you're doing, right?" Shadic whispered as she passed him on the way in.  
  
"Yeah, I think so." he answered before shutting and locking the door again.  
  
"Ok, you can go away now." the guard told Fran.  
  
"Hey, I've got an idea." Fran began. He walked back to the man to talk. Shadic could no longer see them, so she listened carefully. "I don't have anything left to do tonight. How about I watch over things here, and you go home and get some sleep. Looks like you need it."  
  
"Hmm," the man thought, "what's the catch?"  
  
"No catch. I'm just a bored old man offering to make your life easier." he paused, "I can understand if you'd rather stay here."  
  
"No, no, no! You've got yourself a deal." the man said quickly.  
  
"That's what I thought. You go on now." Fran said. The man got up and practically ran past Shadic's cell and out the door, slamming it shut behind him.  
  
"Ok, now can I get out of here?" Shadic asked impatiently.  
  
"You sure you don't want to stay?" Fran teased.  
  
"Dead sure! When this is over I never want to see another cell again."  
  
"I hear that." Fran said as he swung the door open.  
  
"All right!" Shadic said excitedly, "Lets get outta here!"  
  
"One second, lets get those handcuffs off of you first."  
  
"Oh, yeah, that would help." Shadic turned around so he could unlock them. After a minute, however, he still hadn't gotten them off.  
  
"Uh, oh." Fran murmured.  
  
"Uh, oh?" Shadic repeated, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"I can't find the right key."  
  
"Well how many are there?"  
  
"Um, a lot." he answered. He showed her the ring, which was full of keys.  
  
"Aww man, give me a break!"  
  
"Excuse me, Miss?" came a small voice from the cell across from them. It was a young brown female fox. Her ears were flattened as if she were afraid.  
  
"Me?" Shadic asked. The fox nodded.  
  
"I think that's the right key." She pointed at the ring, and one of the keys was floating even though nothing supported it. Fran, who was still holding the ring, watched the floating key in bewilderment. Shadic looked from the key back to the girl with her mouth partly opened.  
  
"How are you doing that?" Shadic questioned. The young fox's tail twitched uncomfortably.  
  
"I don't know, I always could," she answered to the floor. Fran took the key and successfully released Shadic from the handcuffs. Shadic rubbed her wrists, but never took her eyes off of the child.  
  
"Can all of you do that?" she asked. The girl shook her head.   
  
"Some of us can. Some of us can do other things," she answered, again keeping her gaze to the floor.  
  
"You're here because of your talents, right?" Fran asked. She shrugged.  
  
"That's what he says." She pointed to the very last cell.  
  
"Who's that?" Shadic wondered out loud.  
  
"He doesn't have a name. He's been here longest, and he tells us what will happen before it happens.  
  
"Well, soon none of you will be here. Can you tell us which key opens these cells?" Shadic asked hopefully. The fox thought for a while.   
  
"That one," she answered. Again, another key was floating.  
  
"Boy I wish I could do that," Fran said as he took the key and opened the door. The girl's tail twitched again, and she stood where she was, blinking several times.  
  
"We get in trouble if we go out of our cells," she murmured.  
  
"This time no one's gonna know but us, ok?" Shadic assured her. The fox hesitated, and then slowly walked over to Shadic.  
  
"Are we going to get everyone out?" she asked.  
  
"You bet we are," Fran answered. He squatted down to the floor so he could look her in the eye. She took a small step backward, and he laughed. "You're one jumpy youngster! What's your name?"  
  
"My mom used to call me Ashley before we got taken away."  
  
"Well, Ashley, do you know where your mom is now?"  
  
"She's downstairs with the rest of the grown up prisoners."  
  
"Those slime balls!" Shadic exclaimed, "They split families up, bring'em here, and don't even have the decency to put them together?!"  
  
"They've been doing that for a long time," Fran told her as he stood up.  
  
"That's just sick," Shadic growled.  
  
"I know," Fran agreed. "Now, we're not going to get anywhere if we keep stalling like this."  
  
"You're right," she grinned, "Let's do this!"  
  
"Can we please free my little sister first?" Ashley begged.  
  
"Lead the way," Shadic said. Ashley ran down the hall to the first cell.  
  
"She's sleeping," she told Fran and Shadic. Fran opened the lock with the key that she had told him to use.  
  
"Better wake her up then," he told her. Ashley sat on the end of the small bed inside the cell and gently shook the little lump under the sheet.  
  
"Emerald, time to wake up," Ashley said softly. Slowly, her sister woke. She sat up and yawned. She was very tiny, and her fur was emerald green, which was probably why she had been named Emerald.  
  
"Ash'ey, why you wake me up?" Emerald asked. Judging by her size and speech, she was most likely about two or three years old.  
  
"We have to go away now. Come on, get out of bed," Ashley told her.  
  
"I wanna stay here in my room." Emerald patted her bed, "Room is nice. You go back to your room Ash'ey."  
  
"No, we have to go right now," Ashley insisted. She took Emerald's hand and tried to pull her up.  
  
"No!" Emerald wailed. She jerked her hand free from Ashley's grip and threw herself facedown on her bed. Ashley gave Shadic a pleading look.  
  
"C'mon Emerald," Shadic said as she knelt by her bed, "we're gonna take you to see your mom."  
  
"I don't know what mom is. I don't know who you is. Get out of my room!" Emerald yelled into her pillow.  
  
"She doesn't even know what a mom is?" Shadic asked Ashley.  
  
"We came here when Emerald was a baby. She doesn't remember her," Ashley said sadly.  
  
"It's past time she remembers her again," Shadic declared. She bent down and picked the tiny fox up. Emerald began screaming and thrashing. "Calm down, I'm trying to help you! Ow!" Emerald had bitten Shadic with her small, but sharp teeth.  
  
"Oh for heaven's sake!" Fran sighed, "Give her here." He took Emerald from Shadic and gently rocked her back and forth. She slowly started to relax. "There, there," Fran said softly, "You have to be quiet, all right?" In reply, Emerald hiccupped.   
  
"You're good," Shadic commented.  
  
"That's part of getting old. Here, you handle the keys."  
  
* * * *  
  
In the next few minutes, most of the other cells had been unlocked. Soon, there was a small group of children of various ages following Fran and Shadic. Each individual had his or her own special power. There was only one more left to release; the one that Ashley had mentioned earlier. One of the older children had told them that he was the only human on the floor, and he had the most spectacular powers. He was known to be a loner, and disliked practically everyone.  
  
"You should prepare for anything," the child warned.  
  
After all of these warnings, Shadic was expecting some sort of monster. But when the group finally came to the other end of the long hallway, all she saw was a rather thin looking boy. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his back facing towards them.  
  
"Hey, are you awake in there?" Shadic asked, unsure whether or not he could be sleeping.   
  
"What do you think, Shadic?" he answered in a low, bored sounding voice. A murmur of exciting passed among the children.  
  
"He knew her name before she even said it!" they exclaimed.  
  
"You wish to free me, correct?" the boy said.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm guessing that you can read minds huh?" Shadic asked.  
  
"No, fool. I can do more than that."  
  
"Like?" Shadic wanted to know what all the kids could do, just in case it came in handy.  
  
"Let me out, and I'll show you," he said. She did so, and he stood to face them. "I can learn things about you that are so secret that even you may not know. I can make you see what you fear most. I could drive you insane without breaking a sweat. Do you still want to see for yourself?"  
  
"Go ahead, can't hurt," Shadic said with a shrug.  
  
"Actually, it can," the boy said with a smirk. His golden eyes began to grow slightly brighter, and everything around him and Shadic began to dissolve into darkness.  
  
"Whoa…" Shadic whispered as she looked around through the eerie, blue-tinted nothingness around her.  
  
"Did you know that your greatest fears are going to come true?" the boy asked.  
  
"Like what?" she wondered out loud.  
  
"Like that," he said simply. The boy's eyes became another shade brighter, and he pointed to the right. A semi-transparent figure faded into existence where he pointed. Shadic was surprised to find a holographic image of herself.  
  
"Wow, it looks just like me!" she said in awe.  
  
"No duh Sherlock," the boy said with unmistakable amusement creeping into his voice. Shadic walked towards the image and passed a hand through it. The hologram flickered once but remained the same. "Do you notice anything different between how you are now and your future self?"  
  
"My future self? That's me, in the future?" Shadic asked.   
  
"Yes, it is. Can you see the difference or not?"  
  
"I don't know," she answered after a pause, "something's defiantly not the same, but I can't put my finger on it…" she trailed off. The boy remained silent for a few moments.   
  
"Your future self is a ruthless, uncaring monster. It's quite easy to see it," he said. Shadic stared at the image again, and found that he was right. The hologram was standing with a straight back, fists clenched, and eyes narrowed. It was like the hologram was another person entirely.   
  
"How…what…huh?" Shadic said in confusion. The boy laughed.  
  
"It's coming. Think you'll be ready?" he said with a smirk. His eyes returned to their original color, and the hologram and endless nothingness faded away. When the rest of the group was visible again, they were all staring at Shadic. She shook her head.  
  
"Uh, I think we should keep moving," she said shakily.   
  
The children slowly followed her out the door and to the next section of captives. Here all the children's parents were held. There weren't too many cells here, so it only took a few minutes to open each door. The small hall was soon filled with families reunited after years of separation. Shadic wanted to get everyone out immediately, but decided that these people deserved to soak in the moment; at least for a little while.  
  
"Hey," Fran whispered to her, "Come here a minute." He led her to a corner by the door away from everyone else. "What happened back there?"  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"With that kid!" You just zoned out or something; like you weren't there."  
  
"Oh, that. You know, this is gonna sound weird, but I don't think that I was there. Everything kinda disappeared. And that kid, I think he could change things in that place. He told me, that I was going to change," Shadic explained awkwardly.   
  
"Change, how?"  
  
"I don't know! I think he was trying to say that I was going to become the killing machine that GUN wanted in the first place!"  
  
"How could that happen? That's what you're working so hard against. They can't change your free will," Fran said reassuringly. Shadic frowned.  
  
"But what if they can?"  
  
"Don't ask 'what if's'," Fran ordered, "See how happy you've made all these people?" he made a sweeping motion with his arm towards the mothers, fathers, and children; each family hugging and crying tears of pure joy. "A killing machine wouldn't be able to do all this."  
  
"Yeah but-"  
  
"You worry too much. Look, I think someone wants to say thanks," Fran said. Shadic looked over her shoulder and saw a tall female coming towards her. Beside her walked Ashley and Emerald.  
  
"I can't thank you enough for bringing my two baby girls back," the woman said with tears shining in her eyes.  
  
"No prob'," Shadic said.  
  
"There must be something I can do to repay you?" the woman persisted. She looked Shadic over carefully. "You're injured," she said while her eyes rested on the long cuts on Shadic's cheek that she had received earlier. "I can heal it for you," she offered. Without another word, she gently put a finger to Shadic's cut and closed her eyes. Shadic felt the area grow warm. The woman took her finger away, and when Shadic ran a hand over where the jagged wounds used to be, she found that they were gone.  
  
"Wow," Shadic murmured, "Thank you."   
  
"No, thank you," the woman said with a smile. Emerald waddled out from behind her and tugged on Fran's hand. He crouched down to her.  
  
"Is this a 'mom'?" she asked in his ear. He laughed.  
  
"Yes, that is a mom. I want you to go with her and be good, ok?"  
  
"Can't I come with you?" Emerald asked.  
  
"No, you go with your mom," Fran told her. Emerald let out a small whine, then turned back to her mother.   
  
"I go with you, 'cause you is a mom," Emerald said.  
  
"I promise to be a better mom than I have been," the woman said through fresh tears. Instead of replying, Emerald put her hands over her ears.  
  
"Loud noise," she complained.  
  
"I don't hear anything, do you?" Shadic asked Fran. He shook his head.  
  
"Emerald has very good hearing," Ashley explained.  
  
"What does it sound like?" Fran asked urgently.  
  
"It go like this: beep, beep, beep. It hurting my ears."  
  
"Oh, no," Fran said as his face grew pale.  
  
"What is it?" Shadic asked.  
  
"The alarm, they found us!" he answered in panic.  
  
"What are they going to do?" Ashley's mother asked in a trembling voice. As the word quickly spread throughout the hall, the happy conversations turned to ones of panic.  
  
"Run," Shadic said softly, as she was still in shock, "Run!" she repeated loudly. Everyone broke up and ran in different directions. Several people still followed Shadic and Fran, figuring that if they had brought them this far, they could take them all the way. "How could we have set off the alarm?" Shadic asked Fran as they ran, not taking notice where they were going.  
  
"I don't know!" he panted.  
  
"Maybe someone snitched on us," someone following them suggested.  
  
"If that's true, and I find out who did it, I swear I'll-"Shadic began, but as they turned around a corner, she ran into someone and fell backwards. With a sinking feeling, she slowly looked up to see who she had collided with; she found herself staring into the eyes of Rain.  
  
"You'll what?" he hissed. Shadic couldn't find the voice to answer back with. She simply sat frozen to the spot and her ears began to droop in anguish.  
  
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" she said in a whisper. Rain narrowed his eyes.  
  
"You're going to have hell to pay." He grabbed her wrist firmly and began to drag her back down the hall. He turned towards Fran and the other wide-eyed escapees, which gave Shadic time to scramble miserably to her feet. "I don't give a damn if you pathetic creatures leave."  
  
"Y-you're not going to stop us?" a woman asked. Rain turned and walked away, dragging Shadic behind him.  
  
"Not my department," he answered. Shadic tried to pull her wrist free from Rain, but he simply tightened his grip painfully, so that her fingers began to go numb.  
  
"Where are you taking me?" Shadic asked.  
  
"Can't you guess? Are you really that stupid?" Rain said. Shadic whimpered softly. It looked like another meeting with Sam was in order, and somehow Shadic knew that she would be in more trouble than she had ever been in before. 


	18. Verdict

Shadic's Escape Chapter 19: Verdict  
  
This is a pretty short chapter, for once! I will start typin' the next chapter as soon as I get the feeling back in my wrists.  
  
Shadic: Ya know...I could type it for you...  
  
NO! You've caused enough chaos on my computer already!  
  
Shadic: Well, I tried! ^_^  
  
VERDICT  
  
When Rain and Shadic got to Sam's office, Sam opened the door with a look of surprise on his tired face.  
  
"It's the middle of the night for heaven's sake!" he cried.  
  
"I think that we need to have a little talk," Rain said in a low growl. Sam slowly stepped aside to let them in, than sat heavily behind his desk.  
  
"Sit," he told Shadic. She slowly sank into the chair across from him. Sam turned his gaze upon Rain, who remained standing. "This had better be important, or you'll be out of a job."  
  
"Your little lab rat tried to get out of its cage again," Rain said. Sam sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in annoyance.   
  
"This is becoming to be a bad habit with you," he said to Shadic.  
  
"I think that you're the one with the bad hab-"  
  
"Silence!" Sam hissed before she finished.  
  
"As I was saying," Rain continued. Sam groaned in the prospect of more bad news. "She took about twenty or thirty others along with her," he finished. That simple sentence turned out to be the knife in the gut. Sam slammed his fist down on his desk and stood up.  
  
"She what?!" he roared.  
  
"Well you had little kids locked up for no reason! You can't expect me not to help them," Shadic explained.  
  
"I told you to keep quiet!" Sam began to get red in the face out of anger. Shadic snorted, crossed her arms, and stared moodily at the floor.  
  
"Do you really think that there's still a good excuse for keeping this thing around?" Rain asked Sam, "I think it would be smarter to get rid of this one and start the project over again."  
  
"You know that we don't have the money or the resources to do that. How many times do I have to tell you?"  
  
"I still think that she is too insubordinate to be of any use," Rain said stubbornly.  
  
"Good for you. But it's my decision that counts, not yours," Sam reminded him. He spent a few minutes in silence, but couldn't think of a solution. "Do you have any useful suggestions?" he sighed. Rain shrugged.  
  
"You always hate my ideas, remember?"  
  
"But what would you do in my position?" Sam urged.  
  
"Kill her," Rain answered simply.  
  
"Besides that!" Sam groaned.  
  
"Wipe her memory...then kill her."  
  
"Is that all you can think about?!" Sam wailed.  
  
"If it fixes a problem, why change it?" Rain said. Sam suddenly got a look in his eyes as if he had just thought of something.  
  
"That's it!" he exclaimed.  
  
"You're agreeing with me?" Rain asked with a look of surprise.  
  
"Of course not, but you did give me the idea that we needed. To fix the problem," Sam shot a look at Shadic, "we need to change it."  
  
"That's not what I said at all!" Rain explained. "We already tried to change her."  
  
"She's not the problem. It's what she thinks that's the problem," Sam said. When Rain still didn't seem to be following him, he added, "She won't do as we say, because it's not what she wants to do. If we can make her think that she wants to do whatever we say, there won't be a problem."  
  
"Hmph, like that'll work," Shadic snorted. An angry look from both Sam and Rain later and she decided not to push her luck any further.  
  
"So you don't want to erase her memory," Rain said slowly as he thought it over, "you just want to alter it?"  
  
"Exactly. But this would be the first time that we've thought of this, let alone tried it."  
  
"Hey now!" Shadic abandoned the plan of lying low and stood up angerly, "You've got no right to mess around with how I think!"  
  
"Actually, I have the right to do whatever I like to you," Sam said.  
  
"Just try it. Chaos Con-"  
  
Before Shadic could complete Chaos Control, however, Rain tackled her to the ground, which knocked the wind out of her.  
  
"Don't you know how rude it is just to try and leave like that?" he said as he pinned her to the floor by the arms. Sam sighed in relief.  
  
"Get off'a me!" Shadic yelled as soon as she could breathe again.  
  
"This is something else we should add to our to-do list," Rain said, "Stop Chaos Control."  
  
"We can do that, temporally," Sam replied. A sinking feeling came over Shadic. She had expected to be in a lot of trouble, but this was madness! No more Chaos Control, and possibly no more free will? That little kid was right, they were going to make her a killing machine yet. 


	19. The Coming of Change

Shadic's Escape Chapter 20: The Coming of Change  
  
To answer your question, Rob the Hedgehog, the reason why the Sonic crew haven't come to help Shadic out is because they're being led to believe that she's staying with Nena. Hey, I did a good deed by answering a question...COOL! ^_^  
  
THE COMING OF CHANGE  
  
Minutes later, Rain was dragging Shadic to the research lab. Shadic was struggling against him for all she was worth, but he still managed to keep her from running away. She was terrified, and it was showing.   
  
It took nearly ten minutes to get to the lab. Everything inside was a blinding white, and almost everything was made of metal. Several men and women in long white lab coats turned their heads towards Shadic and Rain, but none of them looked like they knew what was going on. Behind them, the door opened again, and Sam entered with a sick smile on his face. In one hand, he held a small glass bottle containing a clear, watery substance, and in the other a syringe.  
  
"Say bye-bye to Chaos Control," he said as he filled the syringe. Shadic shook her head and opened her mouth as if to speak, but no sound escaped. She hated needles, and Chaos Control was a very valuable asset.   
  
She took a step back, but Rain was in the way, which stopped her from going any further. Sam smirked. "Still afraid of having something stuck into your skin I see," he said as he held up the syringe. Without anywhere to run, Shadic acted on impulse and slapped it out of his hand. It landed on the floor with a loud clatter and skidded several feet away. With Sam now chasing after it and Rain distracted, Shadic had time to find a place to hide. She quickly jumped up onto one of the desks, sending papers and folders askew in the process, and scanned the room. There was nowhere to hide! Everything was out in the open. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Sam just as he closed his hand around the syringe. Shadic had hoped that it would have shattered after hitting the floor; why did everything have to be made of plastic now a days? She swept her eyes over the room desperately. She jumped again and her fingers grasped the edge of a tall glass cylinder, so she clambered on top of it.  
  
"What are you doing? Get down here!" Rain ordered. Shadic shook her head furiously. "Fine! I'll get you down myself," he said in a growl. He reached for the whip that hung from his belt. Shadic frowned; she had never seen one of those used before and didn't know what to expect.  
  
Rain stretched his arm out behind him then quickly snapped it forward again. The whip sailed away from him and wrapped itself tightly around Shadic's arm. She yelped in surprise as he sharply pulled the other end suddenly. The force of it nearly sent her careening to the floor, but luckily her free hand caught the edge of the cylinder again. Rain pulled back with every ounce of strength he had, but Shadic didn't think that she would have been able to loosen her grip even if she tried. "Hey, I'm not standing here for my health," Rain grunted to Sam.  
  
"Don't cock an attitude with me," he warned him. He took a hold of Shadic's arm, which was being pulled down and put the sharp point of the syringe in it. Shadic could feel the watery substance traveling from the needle to her arm, and then throughout her entire body. It felt as though fire was speeding through her veins.  
  
Rain dropped the whip and it fell limp; immediately Shadic scrambled out of reach again. She clutched her arm and hissed in pain.  
  
"Having that Emerald in you neutralized must burn a little huh?" Rain said.  
  
"Well now that that's taken care of, we won't have to worry about you running off for awhile," Sam said happily. He walked towards a desk, "But just in case…" he pressed one of the numerous buttons that was on it. The top of the cylinder that was supporting Shadic's weight suddenly vanished, and she dropped into the glass prison. "You ought to feel right at home in there. After all, you were created right there in that same tank."  
  
"You can't do this to me! You just can't!" Shadic said at last. Sam laughed.  
  
"News flash, I've already started," he said. Shadic pounded on the glass.  
  
"Let me out!" she screamed. Sam simply laughed again and turned away.  
  
"Sir, may I ask what's going on?" one of the men in the lab coats asked.  
  
"You have one week to make that thing an obedient dog," he explained as he pointed to Shadic.  
  
"Why? Did something go wrong?" another man asked.  
  
"Where were you just now? Not paying attention?" Rain said back.  
  
"You can't make a rebel into a slave," stated a woman, "People have been trying to do that for centuries, and it has never worked."  
  
"Well, you'd better find a way, unless you'd rather be jobless," Sam said in a warning tone.  
  
"But-"  
  
"If that thing doesn't obey every command I give it by the end of this week, you're all fired!" Sam said loudly before leaving without another word.  
  
"Time's running out, better enjoy it while you can," Rain said in an undertone to Shadic. He smirked in satisfaction as he too disappeared out the door.   
  
Shadic pressed her face against the glass; her breath fogging it every time she exhaled. The words of the little boy repeated over and over again in her mind: Did you know that your greatest fears are going to come true?  
  
* * * * *   
  
Slowly, the men and women sat down to begin their work. As things settled down, the room became deadly silent. The only sounds were the gentle hum of machinery, the soft hiss of the pipes hidden in the walls, and the rhythmic clicking of many keyboards.  
  
Shadic slid to the floor of her new glass prison, and drew her legs to her chest. She looked at the foreign environment around her; every bit of it seemed very unreal.  
  
Her eyes came to rest upon the computer monitor nearest her. It looked nothing like Tails' computer back home. His had had icons, colors, images, and even a sound effect here and there. This one had none of that. All that this computer had to offer was a black screen, endless white text, and complicated graphs and charts. Shadic tried to make some sense of the seemingly never-ending string of numbers, letters, and images, but failed. It was like programming code, and she didn't understand it.  
  
Then with a pang of realization, Shadic knew that she was the program that came from that very code. Could that line of jumbled text be responsible for her silver fur? Then the next line had to be for the blue markings that blended so perfectly against the silver. And the one following that? What about the hundreds upon thousands of lines that fell behind it? What did it all mean?  
  
Shadic closed her eyes and buried her head in her arms. One week left, just one. Then the rules of the game would be different. And she would be Shadic no longer. 


	20. Close Call

Shadic's Escape Chapter 21: Close Call  
  
I would've had this chapter up earlier but I was home from school for awhile. I didn't wanna have to go back to the German spellchecker. -_- Another short chapter, compared to my others anyways!  
  
CLOSE CALL  
Night slowly changed to morning. But that was the only thing that had changed. Shadic hadn't moved an inch last night, and no one else in the lab had moved either. The door swung open suddenly. Shadic's ears flicked automatically and stood alert as the sound, but she didn't bother to move any more than that. She was worn out, just as she had expected.  
"Status report?" asked the voice of Sam.  
"I think we can try to pull this off, but it's risky," answered one of the men.  
"How long will it take?"  
"Our part won't take very long...maybe just a few days. But we'll have to wait before anything takes affect."  
"How long?" Sam repeated.  
"I don't know, Sir, it depends. We've never done this before. We'll just have to sit back and cross our fingers," the man answered somewhat nervously.  
"And she'll have to be in a neutral state," a woman added, "She cannot be conscious nor can she be asleep."  
"Frozen," Sam concluded. Shadic lifted her head from her arms an inch or two. Frozen? Shadow had warned her about that...  
"Some people like to call it that, but the subject is not truly frozen. She will appear to be in the deepest form of sleep, but will not be asleep at all. It is a very strange technology indeed."  
"Yes, I know. Well, what are you all sitting around for? You only have six more days!"  
"Yes, Sir," everyone replied in one voice as they went back to work. Sam slowly walked to the large glass cylinder that held Shadic, chuckling to himself as he went.  
"Just think, in a few days time you won't have to be guarded or punished any more. And that's a promise," he said.  
"You're crazy," Shadic hissed.  
"We'll see who's crazy. Until then, sweet dreams. Then again, you may not be able to dream like us natural born beings. I wouldn't know."  
A thick white fog seeped into the cylinder as he spoke. It obscured Shadic's vision until all she saw was whiteness. A chilling coldness came along with the mysterious fog, and soon Shadic saw or felt nothing more.  
Unbeknownst to her, a green liquid began to fill the small prison where she now floated limply, seemingly unconscious.  
"It's almost like day one all over again, isn't it?" Sam whispered softly to himself.  
* * * * *  
  
Four days later, a vicious thunderstorm brewed. No one in the large lab had anything to do, and the sound of the rain against the metal roof made many wish for a nap. One man finally dozed off, and his head rested upon his keyboard. The angry buzzing of the computer awakened him, signaling that too many buttons were being pressed at once. Some stared at Shadic as she floated soundlessly in the green liquid, wishing that she would soon wake again so that they could go home.  
Two days ago, the scientists had done all that they could to alter Shadic's free will. Whether or not her body would accept the change was the question.  
Outside, the thunder crashed loudly. The lights dimmed momentarily. Sam, who had been spending many hours in the lab lately, glanced up at the lights.  
"What will happen if the power goes out?" he asked.  
"The generator will kick in," the man who fell asleep answered groggily.  
"I mean what will happen to her?" Sam asked urgently. The lights dimmed again, and just barely managed to come back on.  
"We haven't thought of that..." a woman said slowly. She gasped. "The generator won't have enough power to run life support. There'd be nothing to keep her alive; she'll drown!" she exclaimed.  
The next crash of thunder brought darkness to the room. The machinery's hum slowed then died. A moment later the emergency lights whirled to life. A few small monitors also lit up because they only needed a small amount of energy to run.  
"Damn it!" Sam yelled as he brought his fist down on the desk.  
"Vital sign dropping rapidly, Sir!" someone said.  
"Open the tank manually!" Sam ordered, "Break it if you have to, just get her out!"  
A man pried the metal casing from the base of the tank and began working on the wires that were now revealed. Sam bit his lip as he watched the status bars shrink past the warning line. Then, miraculously, the bars slowed, and stopped dropping. They came to hover just before the critical line.  
"What?" Sam said in shook, "H-how is that possible?"  
"It's...not," the woman said in disbelief. She took a sharp breath. "Look!" She pointed at Shadic.  
Shadic's body was surrounded by a faint swirling aura. Not nearly as bright or colorful as it normally was when used as an attack, but still clearly visible. A crack appeared in the glass; then another. Without any other warning, the tank shattered, covering everyone nearby with broken glass. The green liquid poured onto the floor and spread throughout the room. Shadic's body lay limp as a rag doll on the base of the now ruined tank.  
"What just happened?" the man who had been trying to open the tank manually asked in surprise. Sam shook his head.  
"I have no idea," he said slowly.  
"Is she dead?" the woman asked in a quivering voice.  
"I don't think so. Looks like she's breathing," the man answered. He was closet to Shadic, and he thought that he could see her chest moving slightly. Everyone sighed in relief.  
"Someone take her to the medic," Sam ordered, "We'll have to keep an eye on her there until she awakens again." 


	21. Completion of Change

Shadic's Escape Chapter 22: Completion of Change  
  
Yay, the chapters are getting longer again! ^_^ Wonder how long this'll last...  
  
COMPLETION OF CHANGE  
How many days have passed since the thunderstorm? It was a question that couldn't be answered. Some guessed that it has been about five days; but it felt more like an eternity.  
Slowly, Shadic began to come out of her dark artificial slumber. She couldn't move at all; it was like she was completely paralyzed. Gradually, thoughts became clearer.  
What happened? Where am I? Who am I? she wondered silently.  
Feeling began to reintroduce itself to Shadic's body, and with it came a throbbing headache. She was laying on something soft and warm. A bed? She willed her eyes to open halfway; the first sign of movement that she had shown in days. A blinding white light hung above her. As she blinked several times, her vision became less fuzzy. She turned her head to the side because the light was hurting her eyes and making her headache worse. Here she saw a number of strange machines. One of which was emitting a constant beeping noise. She flattened her ears to try and hopefully block out the annoying sound. It stirred something in Shadic mind. She wasn't quite sure why, but she hated that beeping. It sounded so familiar...  
She raised a hand to her head and gritted her teeth. What had happened to make it hurt so badly? A sharp pain ran through her arm as she moved it. Shadic found that a needle was the cause of the discomfort. A long, thin tube ran from the needle to an elevated bad half-filled with a clear watery liquid. She reached to pull the needle from her skin, but another hand stopped her from doing so.  
"I'd like to keep you on that IV for awhile longer," a man said. Shadic looked up at him and squinted as the bright light hit her eyes again.  
"Who are you?" she mumbled.  
"Don't you remember me?" the man said with a startled look, "The ol' doc who you ran away from way back when?"  
"There's a good chance that she won't remember old faces," another male's voice said. He stood next to the doctor and looked down on Shadic. "What's my name?" he asked her. She remained silent for a time while the question bounced around in her throbbing head. "Samuel?" she finally said. "Good," Sam said with a nod.  
"Sheesh, you guys must have really scrambled her brains to make her forget me!" the doctor laughed, "I thought she'd never forgive me for that little accident with the whole shot thing."  
"If it wasn't for that power-outage, this probably wouldn't have happened. We think that certain parts of her memory were shut out. They might come back eventually."  
"Ah, she must have nothing more than a case of amnesia," the doctor said with a nod. The door could be heard opening; he and Sam turned to see Rain. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.  
"So, is the lab rat going to live?" he asked.  
"Yeah, give her a few days and she might try to run away again."  
"If all went well, that won't be true," Sam said, "So how did you know that she was awake already, Rain?" he asked. Rain closed his eyes and his shoulders shook slightly as if he were laughing quietly to himself.  
"My room is only next door. In between all the noises my kids make I can usually hear what's going on in here. And since I just grounded Eddie again for tying my daughter to the table leg, it should be quiet for awhile."  
"Heh, sounds like your son'll make a good battle trainer! Just like his old dad," the doctor said with a laugh.  
"That's what I'm afraid of," Rain sighed, "At least then he will be your problem."  
"I've already got one problem. I don't really need another," Sam said as he looked back down at Shadic. She was too busy fiddling with the needle in her arm to notice.  
"Hey, I told you to leave that alone," the doctor scolded. He pulled her hand away from the IV. In return, Shadic sat up and took hold of his arm, then twisted it the wrong way. "Ow! That's not supposed to bend that way!" he exclaimed as tears of pain formed on his eyes.  
"Let him go, Shadic," Sam commanded.  
A wave of pain seared through Shadic's head at that moment. She didn't know whether or not she should do what he said. One voice said to do as told; the other said to ignore him. The two voiced seemed to be arguing, and it was very confusing. However, the one that said to listen seemed to be stronger than the other, so she finally let go.  
"That's a first, she actually listened!" Rain said in mild surprise.  
"It was a step in the right direction all right," Sam said, "But she hesitated. There's obviously more work to be done."  
"Yeah, get her to let go faster next time," the doctor said as he rubbed his arm.  
"She just needs some practice," Rain said, "I expect her to report back to her training sessions tomorrow morning. I'll give her all the practice she'll need," he said with a smirk.  
"Isn't that a little soon?" the doctor asked.  
"She's designed to be an exceptionally fast healer," Sam assured him, "Besides, we don't want her to get out of practice, now do we?"  
"I guess not... But sheesh, give the girl some time to gather her thoughts."  
"That's exactly what we don't want," Rain said. A momentary silence fell among them.  
"Did I miss something?" Shadic asked. All three of them stared at her like they had forgotten that she was actually still sitting there.  
"All that you need to worry about is that you carry out my orders without question and keep out of trouble. There's nothing else you need to be informed about," Sam told her. He chose his words very carefully. The less she knew right now, the better.  
"It just doesn't feel right..." Shadic said quietly. No one else spoke for a while, and the beeping instrument became to annoy Shadic again. She had almost forgotten about it while everyone was talking and was instead listening to what they had to say. Now she flattened her ears again. Finally, Rain broke the silence.  
"Well, if no one has any objections, I'll be going," Rain said, "It isn't often that I don't have to spend a day working. "As he spoke, loud crashes and yells came from the other side of the wall.  
"Daddy!" a girl's voice yelled, "Eddie's being bad again!"  
"Am not!"  
Rain groaned. "And this is exactly why I never take vacations," he said as he left.  
"I don't know who I feel more sorry for, Rain or his kids," the doctor said with a chuckle.  
"I'd put my vote on the kids," Sam said, "And I need to have a private word with you," he added in a whisper.  
"Alright," the doctor said after he hid a look of curious suspicion. "You lay back down," he told Shadic, "And I don't want to catch you playing with that IV again, got it?"  
"Listen to him," Sam told her. Only then did she consider it and nod in agreement. Then he led the doctor to the far side of the room; well out of Shadic's hearing range.  
"What's up?" the doctor asked.  
"I want you to take her back to her old living quarters A.S.A.P. And make absolutely sure that you lock her in," Sam said in an urgent whisper, "Lock the window too. And if she still has her card-key laying around somewhere, take it."  
"What for?" the doctor laughed, "From what I understand, Shadie's running away days are numbered."  
"Shadie?"  
"Hey, everyone needs to be called a stupid kiddy name at least once in their life." He explained. Sam gave him a very strange look. "Ah, right. Won't happen again, Sir."  
"I'd prefer it didn't," Sam agreed, "Now back to the point."  
"Ok, why do you want her on lock-down?"  
"My head scientist claims that this experiment is going to take full effect in a few hours. And when it does, thinks are likely to get ugly."  
"Full effect?" the doctor repeated. "You mean you expect her to change even more?"  
"Theoretically. If what they think is true, she is going to have some major personality conflicts. And the results may be dangerous. Best to just leave her alone, so no one else gets hurt."  
"What would be so dangerous about her?"  
"You know what she's capable of." Sam sighed. "And in a few hours she won't be afraid to hold back any longer."  
"You're not kidding, are you?" the doctor asked seriously. Sam shook his head.  
"Just make sure that no one's around her. Or else we may be spending a couple thousand in funeral costs alone." He turned back to look at Shadic. She was rubbing her head absentmindedly. The doctor exhaled shakily.  
"Thanks a bunch for the no pressure assignment," he said sarcastically.  
"Are you afraid?" Sam asked curiously.  
"I wouldn't say that, exactly. But having to watch over someone who's emotionally unstable and just as deadly kinda makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up."  
"You should be terrified," Sam said in a surprisingly calm voice. He smirked to himself as the doctor paled. "I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe."  
"Uh, o-ok," the doctor stuttered as he watched his boss retreat, pass momentarily as he passed Shadic, then walk out the door. The doctor sat down behind his desk and put his head in his hands. "I'm already getting too old for this job."  
* * * * *  
  
About forty-five minutes to an hour later the doctor finally came back to check on Shadic. He felt overwhelming relief when he saw that the IV was done. Now I can get her away from everyone, he thought. Not to mention me.  
"How're you feeling?" he asked with a bright smile.  
"Like I was hit by a truck," Shadic answered bluntly.  
"Well, I'll have you know that I wasn't driving," he said. Shadic gave him a blank look.  
"Huh?"  
"It's a joke, you know, like 'ha-ha'."  
Shadic tried to figure out what he meant, and got nowhere. The doctor sighed.  
"Never mind. Lets get rid of that needle, sound good to you?" he asked. Shadic nodded. He removed to tape that covered the needle. It was already partly off from when Shadic had tried to remove it herself. She flinched slightly. "Oops, did I catch some hair?" he asked. Shadic took the tape from him. Bits of silver clung to it.  
"Yeah, I'd say so!" She balled up the piece of tape and dropped it on the floor, then took the needle out herself. She swung her legs over the side of the bed an sat there with her eyes tightly shut.  
"What's wrong?"  
"My head..."  
"Well, maybe a good night's sleep'll help. C'mon, I'll take you back to your room." He took Shadic's arm and helped her up. She irritability pulled her arm away.  
"I don't need your help," she said. She let herself out the door, and the doctor followed. Shadic looked up and down the hall, but couldn't decide which way to go.  
"That way," the doctor whispered in her ear as he pointed to the right.  
"I knew that," she muttered and began following him instead.  
"Here we are." The doctor opened one of the doors and they both went in. He tried to turn on the light, but it wouldn't come on. "Ok, so the lights dead."  
"This is my room?" Shadic asked.  
"It's not that bad," the doctor told her. After which he sneezed loudly. "Alright, so it needs a little work."  
"I don't remember ever having a room," Shadic said with a hint of awe. As she was looking around the small room, the doctor made sure that the window was tightly fastened. He stepped on a small plastic, bent down to pick it up, and then pocked it. Now that that's done, it's time to leave, he thought gratefully.  
"Well, you get some sleep. I expect that someone'll come to get you in the morning," he edged towards the door while he spoke. When Shadic didn't make any reply, he left. The door clicked after it was shut. Curiously, Shadic tried to open it again.  
"Huh, that jerk locked me in!" she muttered when the door wouldn't open. She kicked the door angrily then plopped onto the bed. She had no reason to be angry, but she was. She put the pillow over her head and lay there on her stomach. Maybe she could think of some reason for the unexplainable fury later.  
* * * * *  
  
As the room began to darken, Shadic could no longer think. She was now angry as ever, but her headache had gone to a new level, and it prevented her from doing anything else. She had moved to a sitting position on the floor, and was gently rocking back and forth while her head rested on her knees. She watched herself in the mirror across the room.  
"Something's wrong," Shadic admitted to her reflection, "Somehow I think I've changed. This isn't who I am."  
Of course this is who you are.  
Shadic jumped at the unspoken voice.  
"I think I'm going nuts," she said fearfully.  
No, you're not crazy.  
"Who are you?" Shadic demanded.  
The new you.  
Shadic stood and looked around the room for any vents or holes where someone could be speaking. Nothing was found. "What do you mean 'the new me'?"  
You know exactly what I mean. Look in the mirror if you want to see who I am.  
So she stood before the mirror, but she saw only herself. She narrowed her eyes. "Stop playing games.  
Who's playing? Don't you believe me? You ought to, because we're the same person.  
Shadic's eyes began to darken, and her hands clenched into fists. "Stop it," she said in a growl.  
Stop it? Stop what? I'm doing nothing. You, on the other hand, are doing everything.  
The bright aura around Shadic's body was becoming bright enough to light the entire room. "Shut up," she said in a voice that matched her anger.  
You wanted to know who I was. Now you can truly see.  
"I told you to shut up!" Shadic yelled. She crossed her arms over each other, and as she quickly brought them down again, the mirror shattered. "Whoever you used to be, you're gone now." 


	22. Rain's Defeat

Shadic's Escape Chapter 23: Rain's Defeat  
  
I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long. So much school work -- so little time. Oo'  
  
RAIN'S DEFEAT  
The next morning Sam let himself into Shadic's room. It was a complete mess. Sparks were flying from the wires on the ceiling where a light bulb used to hang, and there was broken glass everywhere. Shadic herself was sitting on the bed, lost in thought.  
"Quite a mess you've made," he said. Shadic made no reply, but growled deep in her throat. She got up and crossed over the glass.  
"Where am I supposed to go?" she asked.  
"Follow me," Sam said. He was surprised when Shadic remained at his side as they walked down the hall. This is how things should have been from day one, he thought to himself. Things would defiantly run smoother now.  
The door slid open and admitted them into the large room. Rain was already there.  
"So what's the story?" he asked.  
"It seems like everything went as planned," Sam told him. "So this will be her last lesson."  
"You think she's ready then?"  
"She has been ready since the beginning. We just had to smooth out the bumps," Sam said. He turned to Shadic. "You versus Rain. Anything goes. Show me what you can really do."  
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shadic leaped out at Rain with one arm raised for attack. Rain raised his own arms just in time to defend.  
"Holy crap, since when have you been this fast?" Rain asked in surprise.  
"I've always been this fast," Shadic answered, "You're just too slow!" She spun around and kicked him in the stomach. He was sent backwards onto the floor with the air knocked out of him.  
"What a difference!" Sam awed, "I knew that she was holding back before, but this is incredible!"  
"I won't let you beat me that easily," Rain vowed. He was already back on his feet and charging towards Shadic. He threw punches and kicks of his own at her, and she blocked or dodged each one, and made sure to return them. She caught one of his arms and twisted it, like she had done to the doctor the day before.  
"This is getting boring. Is there really any point in continuing?" Shadic asked. "You could at least try to be a challenge." She let go of him and smirked. "Might as well give up while you can still walk away."  
"I'd rather die than surrender to you," Rain hissed. A metallic sound filled the room as he drew his sword. "You want a challenge? I'll give you one you won't forget." He brought the sword down on Shadic, and she leaped back to dodge it. The blade hit the floor with a loud clatter.  
What I need is something to block that thing, Shadic thought as she dodged a near blow to her side. A patch of shining pipes jutting out from the ceiling caught her eye. She automatically ducked to miss another attempt of attack by Rain and continued staring at them.  
"Chaos control!" she yelled. Rain, thinking that she was now behind him, spun around, but found that she wasn't there.  
"Where did she go?" Rain muttered to himself.  
"Right here!" Shadic said from above him. She was hanging onto one of the pipes with one hand, and held a good-sized piece of it in the other. The end of the metal was like a frayed piece of yarn. It looked as though someone had taken a chainsaw to it.  
Shadic let herself drop from the ceiling and swung the pipe at Rain. He used his sword to stop the pipe from hitting him. As soon as the two metals connected, a violent tremor vibrated through them and back to the attackers. Rain grimaced slightly, but it didn't bother Shadic at all. It made the metal pipe in her hands feel like a real weapon.  
"I'm going to pound you into the ground," she hissed as she twirled the pipe like a baton. Then she continued swinging it at Rain. It was all he could do to block her vicious onslaught. Each move she made melted into the next. It was a never-ending attack; always changing, never repeating.  
Rain's blade sunk deep into the pipe as he parried a particularly strong blow and became stuck. Shadic tore the sword from his hands and caught it. The look of utter surprise and disbelief on his face was too much. Shadic doubled-over in laughter.  
"I was hoping that his would last longer," she said as she regained control over herself, "But if you can't even keep a hold of your weapon, there's no reason to continue with this little game."  
The next moment Rain howled in pain as Shadic swung his own sword at him. The razor sharp blade cut deep into his left side.  
"Strike one," Shadic said. At the same time she began glowing. "Strike two," she said a moment later as all of the energy she had gathered was released. It slammed Rain into the wall, and he fell in a crumpled heap on the floor. Small pieces of plaster, loosened from the wall by the impact, drifted downward and gave off the effect of snow. Rain wrapped his arms around his side as a small pool of blood formed where he fell to the ground. He looked up to see Shadic approaching him with his sword raised. "Strike three, game over."  
"No, no, no!" Sam yelled as he ran out from the corner from which he had been standing. He grabbed her wrist before she brought the sword down on Rain, which was only a few inches away from connecting with his neck. Shadic let the sword slip from her fingers and land loudly on the floor, then turned to face Sam with an icy stare.  
"If you wanted me to fight him, why did you stop me?" she asked.  
"I said fight, not kill!" Sam exclaimed. Shadic snorted.  
"What's the difference?" she muttered under her breath.  
"You're dismissed!"  
"Works for me." Shadic spat as she went out the door.  
"I hope you're happy," Rain hissed through gritted teeth. "You wanted a heartless fighting machine. Looks like you got it..." he said this in an almost inaudible whisper. Sam crouched down next to him.  
"At least we learned something. Come on, get up. You need to get to a doctor." Sam helped Rain up and started to lead him down to the medic room. They didn't even get a quarter of the way there when Rain collapsed. He could no longer hold himself up, even with Sam's help. He was loosing too much blood from his wound and was beginning to become weak. Sam had to carry him the rest of the way. The doctor was found at his desk drinking coffee, which he choked on once he saw them.  
"My God, what happened to him?" he asked as he left his desk.  
"That monster..." Rain grunted quietly.  
"Monster? You don't mean...?" the doctor said with a worried look on his face. Sam nodded.  
"Shadic did this to Rain," he said. "And she didn't look like she was trying very hard either." he added. The doctor whistled through his teeth.  
"Lay him down over there, and I'll see what I can do. But I'm not promising much."  
  
Elsewhere in the building, Shadic was roaming through the halls. She had forgotten the way back to her room, so decided to walk around with the hope of locating it. She entered another random room, and found it to be a bathroom. Instead of leaving, she went to one of the sinks and splashed cold water in her face. Since the battle with Rain had ended, she felt rather shaky. She wasn't at all tired or out of breath. The battle was more like a childish game. So there was no reason for her hands to be shaking; at least no reason that she could think of. The door opened and someone else entered the bathroom. Shadic didn't bother to see who it was; she didn't really care.  
"Shadic? Is that you?" a woman's voice asked. Shadic looked over her shoulder. "It is you!" the woman exclaimed. She ran the length of the room towards Shadic and gently took one of her hands in her own. "I've been so worried about you! I'm so sorry, I can explain everything, I swear!" she said as tears formed on her eyes. Shadic pulled her hand free and took several steps back.  
"Who the heck are you?" she half-snarled. The woman looked surprised.  
"It's me, Nena," she answered slowly. One look at Shadic's face, and she knew. "You don't remember me, do you? Oh Shadic, what did they do to you?" she wailed. She put her arms around Shadic in a tight hug. Shadic pushed Nena away.  
"What are you, psychotic? Back off!" she said loudly enough that her voice echoed coldly off the walls. Then she stormed out the door as if the encounter had angered her.  
Nena remained rooted to the spot as she watched Shadic's departure. Long streaks ran down her face as tears began to fall from her eyes. Slowly, she sunk to the floor and buried her head in her arms.  
"What have I done?" she sobbed. "Poor Shadic, you were so happy! You're so angry now, and it's all my fault!"  
The longer she sat, the worse she felt. She shouldn't have told Sam where Shadic had gone. Shadic had given Nena every ounce of trust she had, and Nena betrayed her!  
"I'll save you, Shadic, and I hope that you can forgive me," she said as she stood and straightened her skirt. She took a moment to dry her eyes, and then headed to her office. "I'll have to leave early," she said out loud to herself as she dug her keys out of the desk drawer. The sound of her voice seemed to help keep a little calmer. "I won't be able to help Shadic much, but her friends can. It may take me all night to get there, but she deserves at least that much." Nena put her jacket on and locked the door behind her.  
"Where are you going?"  
Nena gave a startled jump at the voice. Sam had just come out of the doctor's office and gave her an accusing look.  
"I-I need to leave work early. My daughter is ill," she lied.  
"I see," Sam said as he thought it over. "Very well."  
"Thank you Sir," Nena sighed graciously. "Excuse me for asking, but are you hurt?" She eyed the numerous red stains on his suit.  
"Oh, this blood is not my own. You could say that Shadic had her final today. She had a training session with Rain early this morning, and he didn't fair so well."  
"How is he doing?" Nena asked as she suppressed an involuntary gasp. Since when was Shadic so destructive and cruel? This was so strange.  
"I'd say he'll be lucky to wake up tomorrow morning," Sam said with a shake of his head.  
"Why would Shadic hurt someone like that? It's so unlike her!"  
"You obviously haven't been kept up-to-date. She listens to me now. I told her to fight Rain and she acted like it was a game. She was just toying with him, and you ought to see what bad shape he's in! I had to stop her before she killed him then and there. It's just amazing how well she obeys now. I'm still in shock."  
"Oh, um, t-that's great!" Nena barely got the sentence out for the lump that grew in her throat. "I'd better get going..."  
She walked around Sam and started for the parking lot. It didn't take long to locate her car. A turn of the key brought the engine to life. As she backed out of the parking space she glanced at the digital clock near the dash. A quarter after seven in the morning. It would be well after midnight before she reached her destination. 


	23. Temporary Alliance

Shadic's Escape Chapter 24: Temporary Alliance

Again, sorry for the long wait. It has been a bad summer... :'(

But, in good news, a publisher has somehow found me, and wants to publish stuffs for me!

You may now read the chapter.

TEMPORARY ALLIANCE

The house was silent as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Amy, and Shadow slept. Tonight even Soko rested on the couch downstairs, though he normally stayed up most nights.

Outside, the gravel crunched under the weight of a car as it pulled into the driveway. It's headlights shined brightly through the window, and Soko woke quickly once the light hit his face. The room became pitch black after the headlights went out. Soko raised himself up on one elbow and waited for his eyes to readjust to the darkness. The commotion outside seemed to have awaken someone else too.

"Somebody here?" asked the unseen voice of Sonic. A knock came from the door just afterward.

"Appears so," Soko answered needlessly. He heard Sonic moving to answer the door, then heard a woman crying softly.

"Sonic?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's me," he responded. The woman fell to her knees.

"You have to help, please!" she sobbed to Sonic's feet.

"Whoa, calm down. 'Course I'll help! What's up?" he asked. He helped her back up on her feet and led her to the couch. Soko moved so she could sit down while Sonic turned on the lights.

"Nena?" Soko said in surprise once he recognized her face.

"Soko?" Nena was just as shocked as he was. "I thought you might be dead!"

"I quit my job at GUN without notice. If anyone has a problem with it, that's their tough luck." he said roughly.

"So," Sonic said after a tense moment of silence, "you're Nena huh? Shadic still stayin' at your place then?" he asked. Nena averted her gaze to the floor.

"It was a trap," she whispered.

"Say what?"

"The E-mails you received were fake. She's been at GUN the entire time..." she confessed quietly.

"You dirty liar!" Soko roared once the shock had worn off. He grabbed her by the collar and slapped her.

"Hey, chill Soko!" Sonic exclaimed as he rushed to try and separate the two.

"How could you do something so low?" Soko growled menacingly. Nena only let out a frightened whimper.

"What's going on?"

Everyone else in the house had come down from their rooms, having been aroused by all the noise, and now stood at the foot of the stairs, watching Soko and Nena with startled looks on their faces.

"I can explain, really I can!" Nena said in a quivering voice.

"You _have_ no excuse for what you did!" Soko screamed as he raised his hand again. Nena shut her eyes and braced herself for another blow. When it didn't come, she cautiously opened one eye.

Shadow had come to her rescue, and was holding Soko's arm back in a tight grip. The look on his face made Nena tremble in pure terror.

"I suggest that you let her talk," Shadow said in a low voice. Soko let out a deep growl as he released Nena.

"Told you we shouldn't have let Soko stay," Rouge said in a hushed whisper to Amy.

"Explain," Shadow said to Nena. All eyes now rested on her.

"They did something awful to Shadic," Nena said in as calm of a voice as she could muster. It wasn't easy with Soko still glaring at her.

"Who's 'they'?" Knuckles asked.

"I'll tell you," Soko growled. "She's been in the hands of GUN all this time! And it's all because of this son of a-"

"Soko!" Shadic said in a warning tone.

"He's right," Nena said to the floor. "It _is_ all my fault."

"So, you must be Nena?" Tails guessed, "But didn't you say that she was with you?"

"Those E-mails were about as fake as Shadow," Sonic told him.

"I'm warning you Blue Boy, call me fake again and I swear you'll be running backwards for a week!"

"You wanna go?"

"Any time, any place."

"Come on guys, knock it off!" Amy shouted over Sonic and Shadow's threats.

"So Nena, you lied about Shadic. Why? Weren't you friends or something?" Rouge asked.

"I didn't want to, but I had no choice," Nena began. "Before Shadic came to stay with you, she was my responsibility. When I came back to work the next day, I told Sam that she had ran away. Then he fired me. Do you know how hard it is to support three kids by yourself? It's impossible without a job!"

"You have a husband, get him to work!" Soko argued.

"He works away from home and lives in his own apartment."

"What's this have to do with Shadic?" Shadow asked impatiently.

"When they couldn't find Shadic," she continued, "they came back to me. They said that if I told them where she was, I could have my job back."

"And you turned her in," Knuckles concluded.

"I know I shouldn't have, and I'm so sorry!" Nena said as she sobbed louder.

"So what did they do to her?" Sonic asked.

"I don't really know. They must have found some way to break her, because she's listening to every command that Sam gives her. She didn't even remember me! She has truly become the most dangerous creature in the world," she explained. The room fell silent.

"Shadic wouldn't submit herself that easily," Shadow said.

"There's gotta be an explanation," Tails muttered. "But I can't think of it."

"What else do you know?" Rouge asked.

"I know that in her last training battle, her opponent got no mercy. They don't even expect him to live through the night..." Nena trailed off.

"She wouldn't kill...would she? Amy asked nervously.

"She would now."

"This just doesn't make sense," Sonic said.

"What can we do?" Tails asked.

"We can't do anything until we know what's wrong," Shadow told him. "But how do we find out?"

"I could hack GUN's computer system," Rouge offered, "You can learn anything that way."

"That won't work," Nena said with a shake of her head."

"Why not? I've done it before."

"And they _know_ that you have. Shadic's files are top secret, and one-hundred percent hack-proof."

"Well, you work there, don't you know the password?" Amy asked. Again, Nena shook her head.

"My clearance isn't high enough. I'm not really on the Project Shadow Beta team, I just helped a little. The only people who can access her files are those on the team. Shadic herself can't even get to them."

"What are we gonna do? Kidnap someone who knows the password?" Sonic asked sarcastically.

"You won't have to." Soko stepped forward, "_I'm_ on the team."

"I thought that you were just a guard?" Tails said.

"Just part-time before Shadic was 'born'."

"Awesome! Now we can figure out what happened, then fix it!" Sonic said happily.

"We'll need to use your computer, Tails." Soko said.

"Alright, no problem," Tails said as he started up the stairs right away, followed by all except Soko and Nena.

"_You _might as well go home," Soko told her with a slight edge to his voice.

"I want to help Shadic too," she said. Soko turned away.

"You've done enough already," he said heavily.

"I want to at least try to make up for what I did."

"Well I'll have you know that if I were Shadic, I'd never want to see you again," he hissed before following the other upstairs.

"I wouldn't want to either," Nena whispered to herself. Once Soko was up the stairs, she stood and slowly joined the others. He gave her a cold look as he sat at the computer.

"Get typing," Shadow told him.

"So, what was you job on the team?" Sonic asked curiously as Soko began working on the computer. Every screen he went to asked for a different password, and luckily he knew them all.

"Nothing special," he answered.

"Aww come on, you can tell us," Sonic persisted. Soko frowned as his fingers continued to dance across the keyboard.

"You're distracting me." he said simply.

"Very talkative fellow, isn't he?" Knuckles muttered as he jabbed Sonic in the ribs. The hedgehog shrugged.

"At least I _try _to get a few words out of him. Maybe if you guy's would relax and start a friendly conversation once in awhile, things wouldn't be so hard on the poor guy."

"Oh yeah, _there's _an idea!" Knuckles said sarcastically. "I can see it now, 'Hey Soko, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?' Oh geez, I think he heard me..."

Soko had indeed overheard him, and had fixed his naturally cold gaze upon him.

"Finished making fun of me?"

Knuckles stiffened and nodded vigorously. Once he was satisfied, Soko turned back to the computer, and only then did Knuckles let out the breath he was holding.

"Man, he's creepy," he whispered.

"Serves ya right," Sonic told him.

"There," Soko announced, "I'm in."

The large group crowded around the monitor to read the files that Soko had accessed, but he scrolled through everything so fast that none of them had any luck. Judging by how quickly his eyes darted back and forth, Soko had no problem.

"By the way," he said suddenly, "we're in deep enough that it's only a matter of time before someone over there starts tracking _us. _So I hope that you have an exceptionally good firewall installed."

"Not to worry," Rouge reassured him, "I rigged it so that looks like we're in a different country every few seconds. No way they can find out where we _really_ are."

"Rouge, is that legal?" Tails asked nervously, as if he didn't want to know the answer.

"In some states."

"Let me guess, we're not in one of those states, are we?"

"Haven't got caught yet have we?"

Tails just groaned and shook his head.

"Hmm, this wasn't here before..." Soko muttered to himself.

"What is it?" Sonic asked. He read the screen from over Soko's shoulder. "'Project Renew'? Sounds like you hacked the wrong computer.

"No," Soko said, "The Project Shadow Beta logo is still at the top."

"It's a project within a project," Shadow concluded.

"What's that mean?" Amy asked.

"I, don't know," Soko sighed.

"It means that whatever they did to Shadic was big, difficult, and risky," Nena answered from the doorway.

"This just keeps getting better and better doesn't it?" Rouge said sarcastically.

"You know anything else about what's going on?" Knuckles asked Nena. She shook her head sadly.

"Well, that leaves us stuck at square one again!" Sonic exclaimed.

"If there are any records for this Project Renew thing, they'll be here," Soko said determinedly. After searching farther down the page, he smiled. "See, what did I tell you?" He clicked on a link entitled "recent status". A small window popped up that read, "Please enter confirmation code".

Soko started at the monitor in disbelief. _Another_ password? "No," he said in stunned shock. "_No!_" His fists came down on the keyboard. "There can't be another password, there just _can't _be!"

It was the end of the line, and they all knew it. Soko didn't know the new password, and without the password, they couldn't figure out just what was going on. And if they didn't know exactly what was going on, how could they help Shadic?

"Well, any ideas guys?" Sonic asked heavily. The whole room seemed to sigh. "Didn't think so."

"We could always storm in, find Shadic, and hope that she doesn't break every bone in our bodies," Knuckles suggested.

"Knuckles!" Rouge snapped. He backed off immediately; a look of guilt and apology present on his face.

"Can't you just guess what the password is? Amy asked Soko. He let out a shuddering sigh and shook his head.

"The possible answers are infinite." He let his head droop to his chest. "There's nothing else we can do."

"Don't be so quick to give up," Sonic said. "I'm sure that we'll figure something out."

"We lost the battle before it even began." Soko shoved the keyboard tray back into place and stormed out of the room. The door downstairs could be heard opening, then slamming shut.

"Poor guy," Sonic said with a shake of his head.

"Maybe someone should go talk to him," Amy suggested unsurely.

"I don't think he's in much of a talking mood," Knuckles said. "I don't think he _ever _is," he added as an after-thought.

"I'll go," Shadow announced as he started out the door.

"Why do you want to talk to Soko?" Rouge asked suspiciously. Shadow paused in the doorway.

"Because I've already been in a situation similar to his. And I'm the only one who knows how it feels," he answered without bothering to turn around.

"Ya know," Sonic said once Shadow had gone, "I think those two have a lot in common."

The first thing that Shadow noticed was how dark it was outside. It was so cloudy tonight that absolutely no light came through. The air even had a certain edge to it. Very befitting for news like this. Unfortunately, it would also make locating Soko much more difficult. His dark coloration and gift of silence didn't help any either. All Shadow could do was walk on blindly. Twice he stumbled on loose rock; he even ran into the solid metal obstacle that was Nena's car.

Shadow sighed in exasperation, and tried a new tactic. With his eyes closed, he took a deep breath, remained still and listened. Since sight failed him, he would have to rely on his sense of hearing. It was truly a last ditch effort. Soko's key element _was_ stealth after-all.

Shadow's ears rotated to the left; they had picked up a distant thudding sound that he had not noticed before in that direction. Carefully, he made his way towards the sound. The cloud-cover overhead had lessened a bit, allowing a small amount of moon-light to shine through. In this light, Shadow spotted Soko at last.

It was hard to tell exactly what he was doing at first, but as Shadow came closer, he found that Soko was punching a tree trunk, which explained the noise. Shadow figured that Soko was searching for a way to let his anger out, and this was the best he could think of.

"So, who's winning?" Shadow asked, "You or the tree?"

"Shut up, ok? Just shut up!" Soko hissed.

"Alright, if you want to break your hands, be my guest." He sat down on a large rock that was nearby, and waited. Meanwhile, Soko continued to take out his anguish on the tree, as if Shadow weren't there at all.

Not long afterward, his energy was spent. He leaned on the tree with his forehead pressed against the bark, panting and trembling slightly all the while.

"Feel any better?" Shadow asked after awhile. At first Soko remained silent.

"No," He admitted at last.

"Didn't think so."

"Why won't they leave her alone?" Soko blurted out. Shadow knew that he was talking about Shadic.

"Why do you think?"

"But it's not fair!" Soko argued. "Sure, they might have made her, but what about all of her rights? What happened to all those anti-slavery laws?"

"Those kinds of things apply to neither Shadic nor myself."

"Well why the hell not?"

"That's how life works," Shadow said with a shrug. "If you're born here, then there's no problem. Otherwise, you're basically considered someone else's property."

"Who would come up with an idea as sick as that?" Soko asked in disgust.

"Probably none other than your famed military."

"Well I don't care what they say. I'm going to go down there, find Shadic, bring her back here, and then-"

"And then _what?_" Shadow broke in. "If Shadic has changed as much as that woman said, she'll kill us all."

Soko became quiet.

"Listen," Shadow continued, "I want to help Shadic as much as you do, believe me. She's become like my little sister. But if we're going to try anything and expect to come out of it alive, we're going to have to be very careful." He paused to let this sink into Soko's relatively thick skull.

"Alright," Soko agreed. "So what's the plan?"

Shadow flashed his famous smirk. "We do exactly what you said. Go straight to GUN's doorstep."

"But, how can we get there in time?" Soko asked. He was surprised as it was by Shadow's idea.

"Easy. We soup up Chaos Control."


	24. A Child's Promise

Shadic's Escape Chapter 25: A Child's Promise

Who ever knew that a bad summer could get worse and even carry on into fall? I struggled with this chapter, but I finally got it done, booya! Please don't be too mad for the insanely long wait.

A CHILD'S PROMISE

For Shadow's plan of using Chaos Control to work, he was going to have to use his super form. The reason for this being that Soko couldn't activate it, and Shadow could only use the power on himself in this state. But for him to go super, they would need the Chaos Emeralds. And that meant getting past Knuckles first.

The echidna was sitting in the kitchen along with Sonic, Tails, Rouge, Amy, and Nena when Soko and Shadow both burst into the room.

"Knuckles, we need the Emeralds," Shadow said right off the bat.

"What? What for?" Knuckles asked in surprise.

"So I can use it as a night-light," Shadow said sarcastically.

"We want to use Chaos Control to get to Shadic," Soko explained.

"You can't do that! You'll end up coming back in pieces!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"No we won't. Besides, do you have a better idea?" Shadow asked him. Knuckles sat back in his chair wit his eyes closed, and sighed.

"This is a stupid idea," he said with a shake of his head.

"He's right you know," Rouge added.

"You won't be going, so what's the fuss?" Soko asked.

"Hey, why don't you let 'em give it a go, Knux?" Sonic said calmly, "Who knows, it could work."

"But Sonic, what it they get caught?" Amy asked worriedly.

"Ah don't worry about it," he said with a laugh, "We already know that Soko knows the place like the back of his hand, and Shadow can fight it he has to, right? He's dealt wit the security 'bots before. Besides, if they need help, we're here aren't we?"

"Yeah, we're _here_," Knuckles argued, "You know how far away that is?"

"I've been there before. Wasn't that far," Sonic said simply.

"Don't be stupid! Going around the world isn't far for you!"

"Come on Knuckles," Tails broke in, "If they're careful, it could work! Plus, it's the only idea we have."

Knuckles put his hand over his face and groaned. "Fine! Go and get yourselves pulverized, see if I care! But don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't have to," Shadow said as he and Soko turned to leave the house. For a minute there, he didn't think that Knuckles was going to let them go. But even if he hadn't granted them permission to use the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow would have taken them himself. No one was about to tell him what he could and could not do.

"Do you know where you're going?" Soko's voice broke into Shadow's thoughts. He was running behind Shadow as fast as he could, trying to keep up. Shadow wasn't even aware that he had started running, but he still wasn't going fast by his standards. But he was still a little too quick for Soko though, who was used to doing things slowly and carefully.

"Of course I know where I'm going. Do you know where to go once we get to GUN?"

"I've got some ideas," he answered.

"What do you mean, 'you've got some ideas'?" Shadow said with a mixed tone of surprise and worry. If he didn't know where to go, then they probably _were_ going to get caught.

"We're going to talk to someone I know first. We might be able to find some stuff out that way."

"That's too risky. We'll get turned in."

"He's like my brother; he wouldn't do that."

"Yeah…right," Shadow muttered under his breath. He had liked this plan at first, but now he was beginning to wonder just what he was getting himself into. It was bad enough that he had to cooperate with Soko, but now he was going to have to socialize with one of his friends? This was more than he had bargained for by far.

The journey went on in silence, the only sound being running feet on the ground and Soko's tired panting. Before long, the large land mass known as Floating Island loomed ahead, and the switch from running to climbing was made with no spoken word, though neither of their minds were as quiet.

Shadow was slowly filling with dread at the thought of the altered plan, yet at the same time felt excitement. It had been quite awhile since he had seen any action, and this stunt was sure to have its moments.

Soko, on the other hand, was both anxious to see Shadic again, and afraid. What he no longer wished to see was the torment that she was forced to go through. It put him to shame to know that he had once helped increase her suffering in this very spot not so long ago…

They entered the cool cave where the Emerald shrine now rested. At the top of the large stone staircase, a miniature aurora borealis danced on the walls. Soko was in awe; this was the first time that he had seen the famous Chaos Emeralds. Shadow, however, remained unfazed. He had seen these powerful gems so many times before that the sight of them no longer seemed like anything special.

One by one he gathered the Emeralds into his arms. He closed his eyes and adopted a look of pure concentration and focus. The Emeralds left his grasp under their own power and began to slowly revolve around him. Soko instinctively took a few steps backward. This shattered all the laws of physics that he knew…

Shadow spread his arms wide as the Emeralds continued to circle him, getting faster with each completed circuit. Soon, they seemed like nothing more than a multi-colored streak of light. Soko shielded his eyes as a bright flash exploded from either the Chaos Emeralds, or Shadow himself. His eyes refused to stay open against the blinding light any longer, and even if he could keep them open, he would fail to see anything.

In a few moments, the light finally died down. When Soko could see again, he saw a Shadow very different from the one he was used to. His black fur had transformed into platinum, while the red portion remained the same. His toes floated a few inches off the ground, and a brilliant light blurred the edges of his being. As he snapped his eyes open, the Chaos Emeralds slowed, and then returned to his hands. They were noticeably duller than before.

"Ready?" he asked. Soko was too amazed to voice an answer, but he managed a confident nod. Shadow put a glowing hand on his shoulder.

"Chaos Control!"

They vanished from Floating Island and reappeared near GUN's base hardly a second later. The power of Chaos Control was without a doubt amazing.

"Lead the way," Shadow told Soko. He had already returned to his normal state, not wasting any more energy than he had to, and the Chaos Emeralds had regained all of their former luster.  
"Shouldn't we find a place to put those?" Soko asked. Shadow looked down at the gems in his hands.

"I suppose so. Any ideas?"

"There are many places to hide things inside," Soko offered as he turned to face the base. A sinking feeling of doubt overcame him. This was not a place he was looking forward to returning to. After a few moments more of mental preparation, he walked though the gates, Shadow following behind. He didn't know why his breath quickened and his hands became slippery with cold sweat. No one ever paid him much attention when he belonged here, so they wouldn't now. Most of them probably didn't even realize that he was gone.

It was lucky that it was so late. No one would be here except for those who took residence in the building. This he was sure of, because he had spent many nights exploring the labs as a child, and was hardly ever caught.

"Hey, how are we going to get past the cameras?" Shadow whispered. He had only just remembered them from his previous visit.

"Since we're coming in, we can cut the power. You can't get to that room when you're coming out like we were last time," Soko answered.

"Well _that's_ stupid."

Soko shrugged. "I didn't design the place." He stopped at the corner where the said cameras began, and looked around the wall to make sure that it was clear.

It wasn't.

"There's a small crowd around the infirmary, so we'll have to be quiet."

"Then shut up and run," Shadow hissed. Soko rolled his eyes, and waited until no one was looking in their direction. They only had to get to the room across from them.

"Go!" he told Shadow in a hushed voice. They both sprinted the short distance and ducked into the next room, closing the door as quickly and quietly as possible. Whether or not they had been noticed couldn't be said, but since no one came knocking on the door, Soko figured that they were safe.

"I can't see," Shadow complained. True, it was pitch black in the room.

"Then turn the light on," Soko said.

"I can't see the switch, you idiot."

"You are impossible," Soko sighed as he felt the wall for the light switch. Both were momentarily blinded once he found it. "Happy?" he asked.

"As happy as I'll get. Where are we?"

"Electrical room. If we can find the right circuit breaker, we can shut down the cameras," Soko answered as he ran his finger down a long list of objects that ran on electricity. Each had a number assigned to it that corresponded with the breaker that it belonged to. "'Security cameras – 163'", he read out loud, "Look for that number. Let me know if you find it.

The two separated and looked for circuit breaker number 163. Nearly everything in the building ran on electrical power, so there were hundreds upon thousands of breakers. Consequently, the room was quite large, and finding a specific one could be a challenge.

"Found it!" Shadow's voice echoed off the walls. Soko rushed to him, and silently prayed that his call hadn't been heard.

"Could you be any louder?" he hissed.

"Nobody heard me but you," Shadow argued stubbornly.

"Arg, it'll be a miracle if we don't get caught!" Soko groaned as he switched the breaker off.

"Then you'd better start praying."

"Listen, why don't you stay here while I go see what I can find out," Soko said whilst rubbing his temple. Shadow looked taken aback.

"What? What for?" he asked.

"You're like an antelope trapped in a lion's den right now. Everyone here knows who you are, what you look like, and what you've done. And just about all of them want to see you back in cryogenic sleep. I plan on going right past that crowd out there, and you know just as well as I that you wouldn't go unnoticed," he explained.

"Well what about you?" Shadow complained, "You don't exactly belong here either. Or do you...?" he added slyly as an after thought.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Soko asked after a bit of a pause. Shadow merely snickered.

"Oh, I think you know."

"You still don't trust me..." Soko guessed. "Just remember that it was your idea to come here, so you can't complain."

Shadow was still quietly mocking Soko with his cruel laughter as he left the room. He leaned against the closed door and sadly wondered why he as unable to gain these people's trust. Now, however, was not the time to worry about it. There were much, much more important things that required his attention.

He strolled down the hall towards the group that was gathered around the doctor's place, in what he hoped was in an inconspicuous manner. Few of the men and women spared him a glance; none gave his passing a second thought. All but one anyway...

"Uncle Soko!" cried the shrill voice of a child.

"Oof!" was Soko's only response as said child brought him to the floor in a bear hug which both pinned his arms to his sides and rendered his lungs virtually useless. This naturally captured the crowd's attention.

"Uncle Soko, they says Daddy's not gonna make it!" the child cried.

"Anita?" Soko gasped once he got a chance to look at the little girl. He pried her off of himself and sat up so he was at her eye level. "What do you mean? Where are your dad and brother?"

"Daddy's in there," She pointed to the medical ward, "and Eddie's in there." She pointed now to the room next to it.

"What happened?" Soko asked. Anita sniffled then shook her head.

"I dunno. They won't let me see him 'cause they says I'm too young. They let Eddie in, then he ran out and went in his room."

Soko sighed and stood up. It just so happened that this child's father was who he wanted to speak to. Looks like he'd better see what was going on first.

"Come on, lets go talk to your brother," he told Anita. He put his hand on her shoulder and led her through the crowd into the sanctity of the room that served as the girl's home. Having spent much, if not all, of his free time here, he knew exactly where Eddie's room was. Yet upon trying to open the door, he found that it was locked.

"Doesn't he want to talk?" Anita asked. Soko knocked loudly on the door, ignoring her question.

"Eddie? I know you're in there. _Open_ the door Eddie."

The door opened a crack, and the boy poked his light gray head out. "Go away," he mumbled. Soko gently pushed the door open just as Eddie was trying to close it. He was so tiny and weak compared to Soko, that the older hedgehog had to push the door slowly as not to hurt him. There was a growing number of people that he wanted to hurt right now, but this child wasn't one of them.

Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to keep Soko out, Eddie ran and crawled under his bed. Soko dove after him and caught his ankle.

"Lemme go!" Eddie whined, then squirmed his way to freedom. Soko sighed in exasperation.

"Come _on_ Eddie," he said in an agitated tone.

"No!" he answered.

"Please Eddie?" Anita asked in a whimpering voice. She crawled under the bed after him. "We just wanna know what happened to Daddy. You know, don't'cha?" she asked in a calmer, softer voice.

"Nuh-uh, you'll start crying and stuff."

"Will not!"

There was a long pause, during which Eddie thought things over. At the same time, Soko silently got on top of the bed, so he couldn't be seen. It seemed that for some reason, Eddie didn't want to talk to him, which struck him as odd. Eddie had never ran away from him like this before. His behavior made Soko fear the worst for Rain, the children's father. But Anita seemed to be able to calm Eddie down enough so that he would be willing to tell the story.

"No," came Eddie's final answer. Soko felt like screaming in frustration.

"Come on, please?" I promise I won't cry." Anita said.

"No."

"Please?"

"No!" he yelled. Soko winced as he heard a loud smack and a pained yelp from Anita. Enough was enough; he could stay out of it no longer. He sat on the edge of the bed, and when Eddie predictably scrambled out from under it, he grabbed him around the middle and held him at arm's length. He then waited for the boy to stop flailing and frantically attempting another bold escape.

"Settle," Soko ordered simply. After Eddie unwillingly did so, he set him down on the bed next to him. "Explain."

"Dad's gonna die," he said in a final sounding tone that was devote of emotion. Soko's breath caught in his throat for a moment. He had hoped in vain that Anita was stretching the truth like she usually did when she had said "he's not gonna make it".

"So they really weren't lying?" Anita asked in a whisper. Eddie shook his head.

"What's wrong with him?" Soko asked when enough of the shock had worn off to allow speech, "Did he get sick?"

"No," he answered.

"Well...?" Soko pushed on when no further answer came.

"That stupid Lab Rat thing killed him!" Eddie said in a growl.

"'Lab Rat'?" Soko mumbled to himself as he tried to think of what fit that description. The answer hit him like a ton of bricks. "You mean...Shadic?" he said in disbelief. Hadn't Nena mentioned something about Shadic injuring her trainer? He should have thought of it before!

"I'll kill her," Eddie said quietly all of a sudden. "I swear it."

Soko turned to face the boy, shocked by what he had just vowed.

"You shouldn't say stuff like that," Anita whispered softly.

"I'm not just saying it," Eddie slid off the bed, paused, then looked over his shoulder, "I'm promising it."

There was an angry fire in his eyes so intense that the hairs on the back of Soko's neck stood up. Then, without another word, he left the bedroom, leaving the door open behind him. Soko sat back with his jaw partly opened, completely stunned.

"Uncle Soko?" Without his knowing, Anita had crawled up next to him, and was watching him through wide, fearful eyes.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Eddie is scaring me," she whimpered. Soko put a hand on her head and frowned.

"He's scaring me too..."

"What's gonna happen?"

"I don't know," he answered with a shake of his head. "Will you be alright if I leave you alone?"

"I guess..." she muttered, as if she didn't really want to be left alone. Soko ruffled her fur before departing. There was no sign of Eddie in either the "house", nor out in the hallway. Soko briefly wondered where he might have gone, but thought little of it. He knew that the boy needed some quiet time, and could take care of himself.

Soko pushed his way through the crowed gathered next door. He knew now why they were here. To watch Rain die.

He found the formerly pure white hedgehog in one of the beds, fighting off the doctor with all the strength he could muster.

"Get _off_ of me!" he yelled.

"Please, Rain, you're only hurting yourself more. If you would just relax and-"

"Dammit man, don't tell me what to do!" The sentence was barely finished, as he went into a mad coughing fit, during which Soko went to his side and ushered the doctor back.

"Easy there," he said as he semi-gently sat Rain's retching body back in the bed.

"S-Soko?" he sputtered.

"Yeah, it's me alright. You're a real mess, you know that?" Soko tried to retain his usual attitude, though doing so at his best friend's death-bed was next to impossible. Especially in the light of everything else!

"I know it...I feel it...I am it." he said with a pained grin. The phrase wouldn't have made sense to most, but Soko knew that it was a variation of his old motto: know the weapon-feel the weapon-be the weapon.

"From what I hear, I understand that you got into a fight with Shadic," he slowly edged into the topic. "How did you get off so badly?"

Rain frowned, averted his gaze, and whispered, "That thing is powerful Soko..._too_ powerful. It has to be destroyed, or else you are all going to die, just like me."

Soko too lowered his eyes to the floor, and found that they were beginning to sting, and at the same time he was again filling with a fearful dread. He blinked back the tears that were threatening to flood his eyes.

"Can you get rid of that creature for me, Soko?" Rain asked. "Please?" he added desperately. Soko visibly flinched at the sound of such desperation from the man who had never before shown any.

"I...I can't," Soko muttered. Rain was struck dumb. He sat up slowly and with great difficultly, clutching at his bandaged but still bleeding stomach wound as he did so. Soko didn't move give for turning his head away, eyes closed in unexplainable guilt and shame.

"Would you, mind running that by me again" Rain asked, as if he hadn't understood the answer.

"I can't," he repeated clearly though quietly. Rain became silent. He had much now that he wanted to say, but didn't know how to word any of it. And he was becoming tired...very tired... He didn't know how much longer he could cheat his inevitable death, so whatever he was to say had to be done so quickly.

"Soko...don't be stupid," he began, "What difference does it make to you whether or not this...creature, remains?"

"You know that Shadic wasn't always violent." Soko opened his eyes but kept his gaze away from Rain's. "You also know what made her this way. That's why I came back. That's why I came to you."

"It matters not...what's done is done, and cannot be reversed."

"But I _can_ reverse it," Soko finally faced his friend with a look of full determination, "I know I can!"

The two stared each other down for a long while, until Rain broke the silence with a deep sigh and gave in.

"We tried to make her forget who she was," he started, "Not erase her memory...just alter it to the point where she would believe that she had to carry out the commands of certain people without question. In short, if you have the right card, she'll listen to you. Of course, Samuel's word overrides any other." He paused to catch his breath, which was running short on him all of a sudden. He swallowed painfully, then continued. "In all, the procedure took about a week and a half, a generous portion being recovery time. Just as her mind was beginning to break down, lightning struck one of the main generators. Usually anything in a stasis tank dies during even the shortest power failures. She didn't. But it did put her in a sort of a coma for awhile." Another short pause. "When she woke, she had a minor case of amnesia for about twenty-four, forty-eight hours. Just forgot a few people's names, the way back to her room, nothing important. Probably just a response from the power-outage. And that's pretty much it. Samuel ordered one last battle between her and myself, and the next thing I know, she's standing over me, ready to finish me off with my own sword! I only with Sam hadn't stopped her. There's no honor in this," he finished sadly.

"So you don't know how to bring the old Shadic back," Soko concluded. Rain shook his head.

"I'm not saying it can't be done. You might be able to figure it out. But first, you're going to have to catch her; something I assure you won't be easy. Then you have to find out how to undo whatever those blasted scientists did. Then you have to actually do it successfully without killing her – or getting killed yourself," he added.

"How can I catch her?"

"Go to the weapons lab...see what you can find there. Heck, there's probably an entire sector dedicated to bringing that rat down."

"You really don't like her...do you?"

"Hell no. I don't trust Never have, never will. This organization made a big mistake they day they started that project. And so did you, when you decided that she wasn't a threat."

"But she's not-"

"She's a _killer!_" Rain broke in, "It's what she's made for, and not even _you_ can change that." When Soko said nothing more, Rain went on. "Who am I kidding, you're still stupid enough to try. You'd better get a move on, before everyone gets here. And while you're at it," he took his sword, which was laying beside him on the bed, and held it out to Soko with a shaky hand, "give this to my boy for me."

Soko slowly and almost reluctantly took the sheathed blade from Rain. As he looked at it, his eyes began to sting once more. But he refused to let the tears fall.

"Now go," Rain said in as much of a commanding voice as he could. Soko tried to speak, found that he had nothing of importance to say even if he could get the words out, and settled instead for nodding. As he left the room, Rain whispered what would be marked as his final words:

"Good luck...you fool..."


	25. Power of the Emeralds

Shadic's Escape Chapter 26: Power of the Emeralds

Shadic: Alright, Light Speed is currently suffering from an emotional breakdown over the "Shadow the Hedgehog game" thing. But she got this chapter all typed up for you guys!

Light Speed: WHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY! Shadow plus a gun? That's not what a Sonic game should be!

Shadic: That's right...let it all out. /pats Light Speed on the back/ Give her a month or two, give or take. 'Til then, enjoy the chapter!

POWER OF THE EMERALDS

Soko didn't even have to force his way through the crowd. They parted for him, and he walked past everyone absentmindedly, staring at the sword in his hands. He dare not remove the blade from its carved casing, for he knew that Rain's blood still coated it.

He was startled when a female raccoon removed the sword from his hands.

"I'll give it to him for you," she said in a soothing voice. Soko didn't even bother to speak his gratitude; he didn't need to. Instead he tried to forget about what he had just witnessed, and headed back to where he had left Shadow. He would fill him in, head to the weapon's lab as Rain had suggested, and hopefully get out of here soon.

"Shadow?" he called once he reached the electrical room. Shadow was nowhere to be seen, and made no answering sound. Soko ventured further into the large room, angry at Shadow's disobedience.

"I told you to stay put Shadow! This is no time for hide-and-seek."

"Well if it's hide-and-go-seek we're playing," said a voice very different from that of Shadow's, "then I think you just lost."

Soko froze and straightened. He knew that voice… And after turning slowly, he found that his assumption was correct.

It was none other than Shadic. She stood between him and the way out, a smug look on her face. Something about her body language, her expression, or maybe just shock made Soko shrink back in fear. Surprisingly, he ran into a solid object much too early.

"Hello Soko," it said, "Nice of you to join us again."

Soko spun around and found himself looking down a gun barrel, held by a human security guard. He gulped. Stuck between an armed man twice his size and a woman who needed no weapon to threaten his life. He slowly raised his hands.

"Alright… You caught me."

"Hate to do this to ya, Sok," the man said. He gestured with his weapon for Soko to turn, and gave him a prod in the back. "But orders are orders."

"Yeah…" Soko muttered as he let himself be directed out to the hall. "Orders are orders…" he mumbled grimly.

"You should've stayed with us, Soko," the man went on leisurely, "See that girl back there?"

Soko looked over his shoulder and the man nodded towards Shadic, who in turn was further behind him. "She does all our work for us, but we get paid for it! We just gotta…you know," he lowered his voice, "keep an eye on her."

Soko gave him a questioning look, but the man went no further. Did that mean that Shadic was still trying to fight them? Or did they just want to keep her from killing more people? He hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Well Sok, hope you're ready to have your head chewed off," the guard said. He had brought Soko to Sam's office. He had expected as much.

Once the three of them had filed into the room, Soko found that Shadow had been brought here as well. It didn't seem that he had came as easily though. Handcuffs bound his arms behind his back, and the guard behind him was nursing bite wounds on his arm, glaring at Shadow as he did so.

"Hey genius, guess what? They found us," Shadow said as he met Soko's gaze.

"I noticed…" Soko grumbled. He looked up at the large desk before him. His former boss had a tired look on his face, as if he had been aroused from his sleep to come here.

"Report," he said after taking a sip of his coffee.

"These two were found in the electrical room," Shadic spoke up immediately. "Neither offered any identification, so I figured that they shouldn't be here. Especially him," she added in a growl as she glanced at Shadow from the corner of her eye. "They had these things with them too."

At her word, the guard who had been bitten tossed a brown sack onto the desk. Shadic recoiled ever so slightly as a few of it's contains spilled from the sack.

"Chaos Emeralds," Sam mused. He took the blue gem that had rolled towards his hand and examined it with a smile. The blue glow it gave off illuminated his face eerily. "Come here, Shadic," he said without taking his eyes of the Emerald. For a moment, both Shadow and Soko were filled with hope, as she didn't follow his command. But Shadic had merely faltered, not wanting to get near the Emeralds. She didn't like them; they made her skin crawl and flesh burn, among other unpleasant sensations that she couldn't explain. But she couldn't ignore an order…she wasn't allowed…

"Do you know what these are used for?" Sam asked her once she had slowly approached the desk.

"No," Shadic answered.

"If you can harness their energy, you can gain practically unlimited power," he said almost longingly. With a sigh, he put the stray Emeralds back into the bag. He roughly pushed the bulging bag into Shadic's arms. "I want you to learn how to use them."

"But-" she began before Sam gave her a cold look. She was going to complain about how they irritated her so. But if she must learn…

"You may go," Sam told her.

As Shadic left, she noticed that the other two hedgehogs were, and had been watching her. She had minimal issues with Soko; she didn't even remember him. But for some reason, whenever she looked at Shadow, her already tingling blood boiled. She growled fiercely at both of them, but kept her eyes locked on Shadow.

"Well, well, well, we all meet again," Sam said after Shadic was gone. "But I have to admit that I'm surprised to see _you_ here, Soko. I thought that perhaps you had had an accident…"

"No, Sir," Soko said out of habit, cursing himself afterward for the addition of "sir".

"Then where have you been?" Sam questioned.

"I assisted Sonic and the others, including Shadic, in their escape," Soko said with no change of expression. Sam, on the other hand, choked on the coffee he was drinking.

"_You!_" he exclaimed in surprise, "I never dreamed that _you, _of all people, would betray me like that! Why?"

"Your methods are too cruel, _Sir_," he spat out the final word. "Besides, you had placed me as Shadic's guard. My duties were to both prevent her escape _and_ ensure her safety unless otherwise instructed. She fell fatally ill and would have died unless treated quickly, which Sonic and his companions offered to do."

Sam stood and glared down upon Soko with his icy cold eyes. Soko remained calm and returned Sam's hate-filled gaze with his own, equally cold eyes.

"You know the price for your actions, Soko", he said in a slow, quivering voice.

"Yes," Soko agreed. He placed his hands behind his back. "I will be placed under arrest," he said as the man behind him handcuffed him.

"For life," Sam added, almost sadly.

"And Shadow?"

"Sentenced for destruction tomorrow morning," he said now with a half grin.

"Better than being frozen again," Shadow mumbled.

"I see… May I ask a question before being taken away?" Soko asked.

"What is it?" Sam said after a moment of consideration.

"How'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Shadic's obedience. How did you get it?" Soko questioned. Of course, he knew what they did from his former conversation. But maybe he could learn more.

"Ah," Sam said in a calmer tone. He seated himself and smiled. "You should know of our research in memory alteration."

"No subject survived the tests," Soko recalled. Sam nodded.

"Shadic has quite a mind, and a will to boot. It was very difficult to make her crack. The others were too weak. Something our little project is far from," he added proudly.

"I see you call her by name now," Soko noticed, "No longer an 'it' to you?"

"She responds better to her name," Sam explained simply, "I think she still remembers being referred to as an 'it', which she still remains. We tried to get rid of little things like that in her mind, but some things held on and even grew. Like her hatred of me. If I fail to refer to her by the name of Shadic, she may turn on me again. And she doesn't hold her power back any more. Rain found that out the hard way today. Too bad… he was your friend, was he not?"

"Yes," Soko hissed, anger welling up inside of him. Sam didn't even seem to care that Rain was dead!

"You'll learn the same lesson he did tomorrow, Shadow," he continued happily, "It's only right that you die by her hands. I believe she is quite eager to spill your blood."

"The Shadic I know wouldn't hurt anyone. Not even me," Shadow growled.

"Oh really?" Sam said after a laugh, "Then tell me, how does she already have one count of murder on her record, hmm?"

Shadow fell silent. He couldn't come up with an argument for that one.

"Take them away," Sam told the two guards. They both saluted, and before they knew it, Shadow and Soko were being herded back out the door. One of the guards put a hand on Shadow's shoulder to assure that he didn't try to run away. Shadow turned and growled at him, teeth bared. After that, neither of them dared touch him again.

Soon, the two hedgehogs were unrestrained and sitting in separate cells. Soko had never dreamed that he would see this side of the bars. He didn't mind that neither of them have spoked for what seemed forever, until Shadow sighed.

"You still alive over there?" he asked.

"Yeah," came Soko's half-hearted answer.

"I sure hope you found some good information. What did that guy mean by 'memory alteration'?"

"That's how they're controlling Shadic."

"Yeah, I got that part. What does it mean?"

"It's kind of like how you lost your memory. Except instead of erasing it, they 'reversed' some things in her head. She used to think that she didn't have to listen to what the people here told her to do, but now she thinks that she does," Soko explained monotonously. "It has more to do with will than actual memory."

"I wonder why they don't do that to me and make me their slave too."

"I doubt they know how. They have a system they used to create her, and I bet that's how they did this." Soko said. After another moment of silence, he decided that he might as well explain more, seeing as he wasn't under contract anymore... He could tell anyone GUN's secrets now.

"They made a machine to build and change her DNA. Anything that they wanted to do to her had to be worked out through a computer. The computer runs the data to this machine of theirs, and it tries to make a bacteria that would cause the change in reality. Shadic has to be in stasis so the machine can inject whatever concoction it came up with into the tank, and it's absorbed into her bloodstream through the skin. It literally infects her entire body. It's made specifically to work with her, and would probably just end up killing anyone else."

Shadow whistled. "I wonder how many geniuses it took to come up with that idea."

"The entire committee," Soko said, not catching the sarcasm. "So, do you care to share how you got caught?"

"They called in the electrician when those cameras went out." He laughed sadly. "We _really_ should have thought of that…"

"But we didn't," Soko said in a tone of accepted defeat. He was strongly considering bashing his head against the stone wall right about now…

"Well, you're the smart one. What do we do now?"

Soko stood and began pacing around the cell, hands clasped behind his back. Never before had he been in a situation remotely like this! He ran every possible plan through his head, but none of the outcomes were any good. He closed his eyes and growled softly to himself.

"I don't know. I just don't know…" he said, a touch of distress mingled into his normally calm voice. He knew all too well that his failure to come up with a plan would result in Shadow's execution, his own life-long imprisonment, and Shadic's continued servitude. He just wasn't the man for this job! The only thing he was good at was being quiet and following orders, not leading a rescue-turned-escape!

Soko abruptly stopped pacing and leaned face-first against the wall. It felt as if all the pent up emotions of the last few hours were attacking his soul at once, and it was driving him nuts. He hadn't cried since he was a baby, if then, and he didn't want to now. Instead, he hit the wall with his fist, sending a wave of pain up his entire arm. That was Soko's way of expressing grief.

Halfway across the building and at least three floors up, Shadic thought nothing of her potential heroes. All of her attention was focused on the gem resting upon her chest as she lounged on her bed. She was supposed to be "harnessing its power". Bah, the only power she sensed in this rock was the power to give her a splitting headache. With an irritable growl, she slapped the Chaos Emerald away. It bounced off the wall and rolled to a shaky stop by its multi-colored counterparts. Red, white, purple, green, blue, light blue, now yellow. None of the seven Emeralds seemed to hold anything special. Just seven different ways to torment Shadic.

She rolled over onto her side and flung her arm over her eyes. It was hard to believe that these things were supposed to grant her unlimited power. Heck, they were draining it!

Just as sleep was about to claim her, her skin began to tingle furiously, giving her goose bumps that caused her fur to stand on end. She gave a long, drawn out groan; why couldn't these rocks leave her alone?

She allowed her arm to slip from her eyes, where it dangled feebly over the edge of the bed. Her eyes opened and expected to find darkness. They were instead forced to squint as a light stung and surprised them. How could there be light in a room without a light bulb? Shadic raised her head in curiosity, willing her sleepy eyes to adjust.

Two of the Chaos Emeralds were glowing unusually bright, and for no apparent reason either. That defiantly explained the strange light, and most likely the reason for Shadic's fur to stand up too.

"Alright," Shadic said quietly, "what are you trying to tell me?"

She rolled off the bed without bothering to sit up first; landing cat-like on her hands and toes. Immediately she drew her arm back, and felt a warm, sticky substance oozing from her hand, along with a stinging pain. She looked down and saw a piece of jagged glass glimmering in the multi-colored light. No one had bothered to clean up the shattered remains of the mirror she had broken, and the floor was covered with these little fragments. It looked quite pretty by the glow of the Emeralds, but was a hazard all the same. She sucked on her bleeding wound, and used her pillow to brush a clear space on the floor where she could sit.

After making sure that the floor was clear, Shadic sat down cross-legged by the Chaos Emeralds. The last one she had thrown, the yellow one, had come to a stop between the green and red ones. Both the yellow and the green were now glowing at least twice as bright as before, but all of the others remained the same. Puzzled, she reached out and touched the yellow gem. It vibrated slightly, and felt warm beneath her fingers. These weren't how they felt before…

She removed her cut hand from her mouth and moved it toward the red Emerald. She hesitated as she noticed that it, too, became brighter, but only when her hand was near. It stopped if she brought it back. Curiosity won over Shadic's caution, and she went ahead and touched it. She withdrew it with a surprised yelp. A spark of what she guessed was energy had jumped from the Emerald to her hand, and it had left the open cut burning. It hadn't done that before either!

She wondered if it were just that one she couldn't touch. Reasoning that since she had made contact with the yellow Emerald, she decided that this was true.

Just to be sure, Shadic tried to touch it again, still with her cut hand. She stopped in a hurry when it glowed in warning. Frustrated, she simply tried her other hand.

Nothing happened.  
It didn't become brighter, and no shock came when her finger cautiously poked it. Again, it felt warm and soothing in her hand.

"What, can't I touch you with my left hand?" Shadic asked the Emerald with a faint smile on her face. It had seemed to calm her angry mood, which she had been in as of late. It was a nice change.

She noticed that as she picked the Chaos Emerald up, both it and the green one dulled, and she was unable to feel its vibration. She put it back, and at once they both flared to life, and she could feel their power again.

Shadic sat back and tapped her lower lip, absorbed in thought. In her mind, a mental list of facts was forming.

One: Don't touch the Chaos Emeralds with your left hand. Shadic had absolutely no idea why this was so, but the memory of the red Emerald episode would keep her from doing it again.

Two: Yellow plus green was good. At least she figured it was a good combination. Whenever they were near one another, they glowed. And only when this occurred could Shadic feel their so-called "power". These two would also vibrate at a low frequency that could be felt, but not heard, and they were warm to the touch. The gems also tended to mellow Shadic, too. Maybe it had something to do with that vibration.

Three: The five Chaos Emeralds that were left were as dull as rocks. Plain and simple. They did glow in their individual colors, but after seeing the intensity of the yellow and green, that was nothing.

Four: All seven of them made Shadic uncomfortable. Again, plain and simple.

And that was as far as this list went. But what did it mean?

"It's a puzzle!" Shadic soon said to herself. She wasn't sure how she had come to this conclusion. The answer just seemed to come out of nowhere. Her theory was this: if the Chaos Emeralds were lined up in a certain order, maybe then she could see their "unlimited power". It was such a simple answer! But she was proud of her problem solving skills all the same. It was just going to take awhile to get the Emerald's in the right order… Looks like she would have something to occupy her after all.

While Shadic had work to do, neither Shadow nor Soko had anything to keep their minds off of what they knew would happen in the morning. And since neither were known for their people skills, conversation was limited.

Soko simply sat, silent and brooding as usual. His dark, icy blue eyes stared forward, but saw nothing. Too much had happened for him to handle, and there was nothing he could do about it. All those years of seeing families split, innocent creatures imprisoned, mentally and physically tormented… He hadn't known what it was like until now.

But Shadow knew all too well. He had been a prisoner for fifty-some years, and he remembered little, if any of it! He almost wished they would freeze him again; the boredom was more than he could take. For a brief time, he had found minimal amusement in throwing a small rock he had found at the bars of his cell. The rock would bounce off the metal with a clang and come back to him, ready to be thrown once again. His "fun" had ended, however, when the rocked missed its target and landed outside the door, far beyond Shadow's reach. So much for that.

"It almost seems too quite in here now," Soko said with a melancholy air.

"I'll miss that little pebble," Shadow responded, "It must have given me at least fifteen minutes of entertainment."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Soko's lips. He knew Shadow was making an attempt at humor. That fact alone was funnier than the joke itself. The smile soon faded though, as Soko remembered that his companion wouldn't be around tomorrow. He would be fighting a battle that he could only lose. That thought somehow brought up Soko's next question, one that he wasn't aware of asking until he had said it.

"Are you going to hurt her?"

The question startled Shadow for a moment. He had hoped that the conversation wouldn't include the upcoming battle between himself and Shadic. Leave it to Soko to worry about her well being, even after she had switched sides. But he too had been pondering over the same question himself…

"I haven't decided yet," Shadow said after a long pause.

"You haven't decided…" Soko repeated grimly, "That's another way of saying yes."

"No," Shadow retorted, "It's another way of saying that I don't know. I can't attack someone who I see as family, and I won't go down without a fight. You see my problem."

"Oh…" Soko said, more as to say that he had heard than he agreed.

"I'm not going to on purpose," Shadow promised, "But a few scratches and bruises won't kill her," he added. "If anything, you'll get her back in one piece. Good enough?"

Soko took a deep breath, held it, and slowly let it out. "Good enough," he finally said. After that, they were silent once more.

It was now well into the evening, and still no words were further exchanged between the two hedgehogs. In fact, there hadn't been any sound whatsoever. One could have gone deaf and not have noticed.

Only after Soko's ears picked up a faint sound was he certain that the gift of hearing was indeed still with him. He started to stand, only to be forced to have to catch himself on the wall. He hadn't realized that his entire right leg had gone completely numb…

He half hopped, half dragged himself to the door of his cell, and pressed his face to the bars, hoping to see something. Within a few moments, that "something" finally came into view.

It was a little old lady, pushing her food cart in front of her. Soko sighed in relief. He thought that they would get the food deprivation treatment.

"My my, what are you doing in there?" she asked Soko once she had reached them, something that had taken quite a while. She didn't give Soko a chance to answer, however. "I haven't seen you in there since you were about yay high! In fact, I haven't seen you anywhere for awhile. I thought you had run off with your sweetheart though. All the girls down at the cafeteria have been talking about what a wonderful novel someone could write about your lives. So is the little trouble maker here too?"

Soko had never been more grateful for his thick, dark fur, because it hid the fact that he was now blushing more than he ever had in his life. I didn't help that he could hear Shadow's stifled laughter either.

"Oh, um, yeah, she's here," he mumbled.

The elderly woman shook her head and began taking bowls out of her cart, speaking while she worked. "That's a shame. This is no place for someone to grow up. You ought to know that, "she said solemnly. "Nope, she needs to get out and see what a real life is like before she reaches my age. And so do you!" she added as she pointed her ladle at him. "You're already twenty-five!"

"Eighteen," Soko corrected, knowing it wouldn't matter either way. This woman usually didn't talk this much, but once she got started…

"Oh well," she sighed, "the least I can do is bring her some dinner. I hear she couldn't stomach my soup though, poor thing. I'll make her a nice sandwich." She handed both Shadow and Soko a bowl of her infamous soup while she spoke. "Would you like me to give her a message for you?"

"No…no thanks," Soko said softly. He knew there wasn't any point in it.

"Alright." She patted him on the head as if he were a child. "I'd better be going. Best of luck to you."

With that said, she began to leave, taking as much time as it took her to arrive. Once she was gone, Shadow wasted no time bursting into laughter.

"Oh that was great!" he howled, "If only Shadic were here to hear that one!"

"Come on, lay off," Soko said, both angry and embarrassed beyond belief. It took Shadow a long time to gain control over himself again.

"You've gotta admit, that _was_ funny," he said as he returned to his old self.

"Yeah, ha-ha."

"She's probably right you know. About getting out of here. The way she talked, it sounds like you've been here for a long time."

"I have," Soko said simply. Though the way he said those two words told Shadow to back off. And Shadow had caught the hint. Instead of pushing on with this seemingly touchy subject, he turned to his unappetizing food. Until he thought of something that stopped him from touching it.

"That wouldn't have been the one who poisoned Shadic, would it?" he asked cautiously.

"No, of anyone who could have done that, she's more than the least likely candidate. Besides, she couldn't poison anyone. A – because she's too kind, and wouldn't dream of harming a fly, and B – because she simply wouldn't know how. I've been eating this stuff all my life. Trust me, as long as you don't have a weak stomach, her food won't hurt you."

Shadow, still cautious, sniffed the liquid in his bowl and winced. "Oh well, I'm going to die tomorrow anyway…" Without another word, he plugged his nose and downed the "soup" all at once. Soko judged by the choking sound he made that Shadow wasn't fond of the dinner. Shadow spent the next half hour with his tongue hanging from his mouth trying to rid it of the foul taste that lingered.

Yellow…green…purple…light blue… Shadic had figured out more than half of the puzzle. Just three pieces left! And what a tricky last few pieces they were. If she put the red Chaos emerald in line by the light blue one, and the white one after that, they all would glow. But when she put the last Emerald, the blue, in the last space, nothing happened. It was very disappointing…

Shadic rested her chin on her hand, thinking. Until her thoughts were disturbed by a knocking outside her door.

"What?" Shadic snapped. Some nerve, disrupting her again like this!

"Well if that's how you treat your guests, I'm sure glad I'm not one of your enemies!" said the voice of the one who knocked.

Shadic grumbled for a moment and stretched her cramped limbs before opening the door for the "guest". Before her stood the lunch lady, a warm smile on her face. Shadic crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorway.

"What?" she repeated. Now that she had left the Chaos Emeralds, their soothing nature did not affect her, allowing her irritableness to return. She needed no reason to hate anyone who wore the GUN insignia – that was reason enough.

"I just thought you'd like a bite to eat. No need to be grouchy," the woman said, "Now are you going to invite me in or not?"

Shadic frowned. It wasn't really an order, but still… Surely she wouldn't have to listen to what this old woman said! Even as she thought this, however, Shadic's eyes came to fall upon and identification tag pinned to the woman's dress. Darn it!

The woman, whose name was Mary, according to her ID, followed Shadic's gaze. "Oh, I forgot I was wearing that silly thing! I never used to, you know. But they've been very strict about that lately. For some reason, _everyone_ has to wear them at all times. I don't see what the fuss is all about."

Shadic waited until Mary finished yakking, then stepped aside so she could enter the little room.

"My word!" she gasped, "You have a carpet of broken glass! Don't you know that you could have cut yourself?"

"Already did," Shadic mumbled absentmindedly. She for one thought the glass was pretty…

"I'm sorry dear but you're going to have to speak louder than that."

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing!" Shadic practically screamed.

"No need to yell," Mary scolded. Shadic put her hand over face and groaned in irritation. Mary put her own hand over her mouth and gasped again. "Your hand! You did hurt yourself! What did I tell you?" She seized Shadic's wrist to get a closer look. "Aww, poor thing, that must sting," she coed while she stroked the cut; an act that made Shadic flinch. "You sit down and eat while I go get you a bandage, ok?"

"It's just a little cut!" Shadic argued.

"Sit!" Mary pushed Shadic onto the bed by the shoulders and handed her the sandwich she had prepared. "Eat."

"But-"

"I want that sandwich gone by the time I get back."

Shadic watched Mary leave with a bewildered look on her face.

"What a crazy old coot," she grumbled. She slowly nibbled at the sandwich in her hands. It was pretty good, but she just didn't feel like eating, even though she couldn't remember when she last had. She had been starving all day, but now that she actually had food, she felt too queasy to eat it. All she wanted right now was the sort out the Chaos Emerald problem before daybreak; already the sky was beginning to lighten. Before she knew it, her mind had drifted back to the stubborn gems. Maybe if she put the yellow at the end of the line…

"You'd better be done with your dinner young lady!"

With a start, Shadic snapped out of her thoughts, and remembered that she _hadn't_ finished her food. Just as Mary walked through the door, Shadic stuffed what was left of the sandwich into her mouth.

"You finished? Good! Did you like it?" Mary asked. Shadic nodded, as she couldn't open her mouth. Lucky, Mary had to sneeze, and that gave Shadic time to painfully swallow the whole load. She straightened once Mary looked at her again.

Mary sat next to Shadic with a length of gauze in her hand. "Alright, let's fix you up shall we?" She gently took Shadic's hand and dabbed a moist cotton-ball on the cut. Shadic hissed and tore her hand away from the startled woman's grip. Whatever was on that cotton-ball stung!

"Oh don't be a baby!" Mary said sternly. "It's just a bit of peroxide."

Shadic snorted and flattened her ears, yet let Mary take her hand again without fuss. She was only dimly aware of the woman wrapping the gauze around her hand and pinning the fabric with a silver metal clip.

"There, all done. That wasn't so bad now was it?" Mary said in a tone one would use when talking to an infant. "Now, just let me clean up this glass and I'll be on my way."

Shadic innerly breathed a sigh of relief. Soon she'd be alone with the Chaos Emeralds and her thoughts again. She tried to look patient as she watched Mary sweep the glass shards into a dustpan. It felt weird watching someone else working. All day people had made Shadic do chores for them, while they snickered behind her back. Even when they knew she was trying to fix this Emerald problem! Oh how she'd love to deck a few of them. But she couldn't, as they constantly reminded her.

"Those are some pretty jewels you have," Mary spoke conversely, "Chaos Emeralds are they not?"

"How'd you know?" Shadic asked in apparent surprise. Mary laughed as she straightened and dumped the broken glass into a bag.

"Everyone has heard of the Chaos Emeralds! Never thought that I'd see them though. I've only seen pictures. I always thought that they were glued to those pedestals," she said with another laugh, "They were always on them in my pictures. Always in a circle. Very pretty indeed!" She gave a sigh, then smiled happily. "Oh well, I suppose I'd better get out of your fur now, hm? If you need anything else, just give me a shout!"

"Uh-huh." Shadic was already jumping off the bed and taking her seat in front of the Emeralds before Mary had shut the door. She yawned deeply before trying the idea of moving the first Emerald to the back.

"No go," she groaned when nothing extraordinary happened. That was her last idea too! What now? She knew for a fact that if she didn't make these things do whatever they were supposed to do, she'd be in trouble. Her ears drooped slightly as she stroked the golden bracelet on her wrist. If there was anything Shadic remembered from before this change, it was what happened when she got in trouble…

"Maybe I ought to call Mary back," Shadic thought out loud. She stood up and paused before the door. If someone came back and she wasn't here, would she get into more trouble? Then again, why should she care? She could take on anything they threw at her with her hands tied!

She put her hand on the doorknob, and found that it wouldn't turn.

"What the heck!" Shadic tried in vain to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. Mary must have locked the door on her way out. Everyone seemed to do that! She groaned again, much louder this time. "Locked. Again! You'd think that I'd have earned the right to have my own key by now!"

Feeling once again very moody, Shadic went back to the Emeralds, letting them calm her. She sat heavily before them and rested her head on her knees. There wasn't much left she could do but stare at the Emeralds and wait for someone to come yell at her. She should have asked Mary for help when she was here. She had seemed to know a lot about Chaos Emeralds.

"Wait a minute…" Shadic snapped her head up as she went over the conversation she had had with Mary.

_I always thought that they were glued to those pedestals. They were always on them in my pictures. Always in a circle._

"Always in a circle!" Shadic repeated in sudden understanding, "They have to be in a circle!"

Filled with excitement, Shadic went right to work. She placed the yellow Chaos Emerald directly in front of her, the white to her left, and the purple to the right. The green went to her upper right, and the red behind her and to the left, while the light blue went behind her and to the right. Only one Emerald remained. She held on to the blue gem, silently praying that this worked. She finally placed the blue between the yellow and white.

This time, something happened.

After Shadic dropped the blue Emerald, all seven of them seemed to light up. Then, unless her eyes were deceiving her, the Chaos Emeralds left their places on the floor and began levitating in midair!

"What the?" Shadic asked in surprise. She cautiously stood with the intention of moving away. Putting the Emeralds in a circle around _herself_ might have been a stupid idea.

Almost as if in protest of her movement, the Chaos Emeralds began to rotate around Shadic. They moved slowly at first, but quickly picked up speed. If she had tried to get away now, the impact from one of the Emeralds would probably end up shattering her bone. Wide eyed and quickly becoming nervous, she instead backed up until she was as far from them as possible, which was dead-center of the circle. That appeared to be just what the Emeralds wanted. The moment Shadic's foot touched the midpoint, their rotation speed jumped. The wind they created blew Shadic's fur and quills around wildly, through nothing else in the room seemed affected…

Without any warning, a blinding light burst from the gems, disabling Shadic's vision. With the light came a strange sensation that washed over her body with just as little notice. Shadic would have cried out in fear if her voice hadn't caught in her throat. Every inch of her was tingling, and for all she knew she could have been on fire. She both wished that she knew what was happening to her, and was glad that she didn't.

And then, it stopped.

Very cautiously, Shadic opened one eye, which had been squeezed shut. A painfully bright light made her close it again. She couldn't feel any wind, so she figured that the Chaos Emeralds had stopped. Eyes still closed, she reached out with one hand. Nothing hit it. She braced herself, and then tried opening her eyes again. What she saw made her stuff her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming.

The bright light was coming from _herself! _Her silver fur wasn't silver anymore. It had turned a pure, bright white. Even the albino hedgehog whom she had fought wasn't as white as she was now!

A strange aura seemed to be admitted from every strand of fur on her body. That's where this light must be coming from. It looked somewhat like the aura that surrounded her when she used her energy attack. But somehow, it was different. She brought her hand closer to her face and flexed her fingers. Whenever she moved, she could see an after-image of where she had been.

"Wow…" Shadic said in awe, "What'd I _do_ to myself?" She suddenly felt very powerful, not tired and fatigued like she had been a moment ago. Her body seemed very light, too, as if it wanted to leave the ground.

Shadic closed her fingers into a fist and laughed almost insanely. "So this is unlimited power? This I can get used to. I can't wait to try it out!"

* * *

A/N 

It has come to my attention that this chapter doesn't seem to be doing well. I realize that this isn't a very "exciting" chapter, but it is very nessesary to bring together chapters 25 and 27. I also realize that some think that I'm making Shadic a little too powerful. You guys are on my frequency, believe me! But you're also putting a little too much thought into it. I have fought with myself for weeks before even writing the beginning of this chapter, debating whether or not to let her go Super. I have finally come to a conclusion, but unfortunately, you won't see what happens until the next chapter. If you want some food for thought though /POSSIBLE SPOILER/ this will be Shadic's last use of the Chaos Emeralds. They aren't good for her health...

I know it takes me an awful long time to update, but I have a lot of other things to do as well, and I try and turn out chapters as fast as I possibably can. I hope that you can spare me some slack and won't get too frustrated with me. I estimate that there are about two chapters left to this story. A lot of you have been reading this since I started it about four years ago (some time before I uploaded it). You guys have encouraged me more than you know. The advice I've gotten on this wild ride as helped me out a lot. For that I thank every single one of you who has read my story and put up with the insanely long intermissions. I just had to say that.


	26. Hunter and Hunted

Shadic's Escape Chapter 27: Hunter and Hunted

Holy cheesy crackers, where have I been? I was still a Freshmen last time I updated! Iya...sorry for the insanely long wait folks, but the time frame here makes sense. See, most of my chapters are 15-ish written pages, and this one was, drum roll please, 51! So obviously, it took longer to get done! Whether or not it's 51 pages of goodness or agony, I don't know. I'm kinda half and half on this one... Be prepared to bounce back and forth between groups for awhile, because they are split up. Just remember that while you read one part, the other guys are still doing things too, so use your imagination to fill in any blanks, 'k? Should be fun, huh! Apologies if anything looks funky, too. This site seems to be handling my uploaded files differently than it used to...

Anyhow, happy holidays from Shadic 'n me, and we'll see you in another couple o' months or so! Hehe... (and just in case you're curious as to what I'm doing with all that silent time, there's a nice little spot in my profile page that'll tell how many pages of the next chapter I have written as of when, so you can tell when I'm cruising along nicely, or suffering from writer's block!)

HUNTER AND HUNTED

Shadic wasn't able to revel in her strange transformation for very long. Not five minutes later, her ears picked up a soft click from outside her door. Knowing that this meant that someone was about to enter, Shadic smiled. Who would be the first to see the new her?

A measly guard, she found to her disappointment. The young man, probably new, did a double-take.

"Whoa..." he awed. He quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat. "Um, I'm supposed to pick up a silver and blue hedgehog. She should be in here..." He scratched his head and looked around the room. "I guess I got the wrong place?"

Shadic rolled her eyes. Yup, this guy was definitely new... "No, it's me you're looking for." She briefly wondered what pointless task she was going to be given now.

"Are you sure? You're white, not silver," he said suspiciously.

"Trust me, I think I'd know," Shadic assured him. She began walking towards him and asked, "So what do they want now?"

"You're supposed to e-execute someone, I think," he stuttered as he checked his notes.

Shadic's eyes flashed. "_Really?_" she said slowly. "I think I can do that."

* * *

About the same time, Shadow and Soko were alerted by the sound of a door opening as well. Neither could see how morning had come so fast.

"Hope you've said your prayers, hedgehog," one of the two men said. Surprisingly, only one was human. The other, a gray fox, seemed wary of Shadow.

"Careful, John," the fox warned as the human unlocked Shadow's cell. "They say he bites."

Shadow said nothing, but let his so-called "fearsome appearance" speak for him. He walked out on his own, head held high to show that he was not afraid.

The human chuckled and to the fox whispered, "Dead man walking," just loud enough for Shadow to hear. Shadow paid him no attention. He instead turned to Soko who was watching with sadness etched on his young face. Shadow raised his hand in farewell; Soko inclined his head slightly.

"You'll get her back in one piece," Shadow said softly as he turned and took his leave, refusing to let either of the guards lead him.

* * *

"You know," Shadic said more to herself than to the guard she was following, "I've been thinking."

The man paused in opening the door that led to the large training room. "About what?"

"About how you people have been treating me. About how strong you imply those Emeralds make me. About how easy it would be to get rid of every last one of you now." She closed her eyes as if in thought and added, "Yeah, I think I'll do that. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon enough." She opened her eyes and smiled. The young man said nothing, but looked as if he had fainted on his feet. "Well, if you ever come out of it, pass that on to your boss, ok?" Shadic closed the man's dangling jaw for him, and took the card form his hand. "I'll let myself in."

* * *

Up in the balcony, several men and women in long, white lab coats stood around the length of the large windows. These men and women were the masterminds behind Project Shadow: Beta, and had insisted that they be allowed to view this great moment. To them, it was like a father watching his eldest daughter graduate as class valedictorian.

Once Shadic entered the room below them, they all leaned closer to the glass. But something didn't seem quite right... And it was awhile before anyone voiced their concern.

"I know she wasn't white the last time I saw her," one said slowly. He and the man next to him exchanged worried looks.

"We made sure she was homozygous silver didn't we?"

"If the fur decided to change, that will make it that much harder to identify her. There are thousands of white hedgehogs out there, but there's only one silver."

"Not anymore..."

"Listen, she couldn't have just changed color like that. It's simply genetically impossible!"

A heated argument soon erupted among the grown men and women. Individuals had to yell their thoughts, just to be drowned out by another. There was only one who didn't have to raise his voice at all, even though he spoke softly.

"She went Super..." the eldest man present said. As he spoke the room went deathly silent, but only for a moment. Clapping from the direction of the doorway broke the brief silence.

"Finally, somebody figured it out," mused Sam. He had entered several minutes before, but amongst all of the ruckus, no one had noticed. He strolled towards the window, taking his time. No one else seemed to be able to speak. "It's almost humbling, isn't it? Seeing our experiment at the height of her power."

"She's not meant to go Super," the stunned elder said. "We told you; warned you!"

"I know," Sam replied calmly.

"Then why the _hell_ is she!" the man exploded.

"Because this way, we kill two birds with one stone," Sam told him. "Literally."

By now, most of the others had come out of their shock enough to speak for the paled old man. "After all the work we've done, you're just going to kill her?" said one.

"Think of all we could still learn from this project!" said another.

"You can't do this!"

"If you think about it, my decision makes sense," Sam spoke up. "Being the greatest minds of today, I'm disappointed that you haven't seen my point for yourselves."

"Oh, so there's a point behind all this?" one of the few women asked. "Well, we're listening."

Sam shook his head, and in a school teacher-like voice asked, "What is the primary purpose of Project Shadow: Beta?"

"To eliminate any threats," someone suggested.

"To eliminate the first project," Sam corrected. "We don't want Project Shadow to exist. It's a black mark on our record. We wanted it to just...disappear. So what did we do?" he asked. No one offered an answer for a long while.

"We created a second," the elder finally whispered. Sam nodded.

"And even with Shadow gone, little Shadic will still be proof that he existed. To clear our record, they both have to go. After today, Project Shadow, as a whole, will have never been."

* * *

Shadic spent a few brief moments observing the men high above her. That, however, soon grew boring. But it did tell her one thing. Such a big crowd meant that this fight wasn't going to be like the last one. This one would be important. Maybe that's why she was told to master the Chaos Emeralds. That must mean that her opponent was really good. The prospect of a _real_ challenge made Shadic even more restless.

Even though it felt like a lifetime, only mere minutes had passed before her adversary had arrived, and Shadic couldn't have been more pleased. It was the black hedgehog!

He was escorted by two guards. After opening the door, they gave him a shove inside, nearly knocking him off balance. He turned and gave them a fierce growl; they simply waved and shut the door. He straightened and turned his gaze to Shadic. His face betrayed no emotion, but his prolonged silenced suggested that he was at least mildly surprised.

"Hello, Shadic," Shadow finally said, very plainly. "Remember me?"

Shadic took a moment to rack her fragmented mind for a name. "Shadow," she guessed. She wasn't sure where she had heard that name, but it was there. And it somehow seemed familiar.

Shadow closed his eyes and nodded once. "At least you can remember," he said softly. "They didn't take everything away from you."

He raised his head and found that he had left her confused. "So," he said instead, "I guess you're here to kill me."

"Yup," Shadic said with a smile. "I hope you put up more of a fight than the last guy."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I promised that I would try not to hurt you."

Shadic frowned, then let out her own little growl. "What?" she hissed. She had grown rather angry in a split second, and in her anger happened to find that she could levitate. She hadn't meant to; it just happened, and quite quickly too. It was then that Shadow realized that she had been looking forward to this match. She really had changed...

"I don't want to fight you," he said.

"I'll make you," Shadic returned. She spared no further words and charged at Shadow.

Shadow instinctively leaped to the side, but Shadic was now many times faster than he, and had time to turn, catch one of his arms, complete the turn, and launch him into the wall, all in one, fluid motion that was quick enough to bewilder the mind. Shadow bounced off of the wall and landed heavily on the floor, momentarily stunned. He shook his head and started to get up, slowly as his vision was speckled with little spots.

"Come on, get up!" Shadic fumed.

Shadow looked up at her, unable to get used to this new, violent attitude. This definitely was not the Shadic he knew.

* * *

Soko sighed miserably. He blew it. Maybe if he had been smarter, he would have figured out how to get in and out of this place without getting caught. But no, he hadn't been careful enough. Everybody lost. Shadow... Shadic... And he'd be stuck in this cage for the rest of his life.

He heard the creaking of the door opening yet again and snorted. His first visitor, he thought grimly. Or maybe breakfast. He didn't want either.

And he didn't get either.

Soko did a double-take. "R-Rouge!"

Rouge the bat winked and slid a card through the lock, instantly unlocking the cell door.

"What's the guard doing in the jail?" she asked.

"What are _you_ doing _here?_" he countered.

Rouge put a hand on her hip and sighed. "What's it look like? I'm bailing you out."

"But how did you-"

"Kept an eye on the prisoner count," she cut in. "It went up by two, and we figured it was you guys."

"How'd you get in!" Soko asked, only just beginning to register the situation. That bat had just broke into what was supposed to be a super secure facility!

"What's with all the questions? Come on, we've got work to do!" She started to turn, then paused. "Oh, and you really should have brought this with you."

She tossed him the card she had used to open the door. Soko caught it by the chain and gave her a questioning glance before turning it over. He found himself looking at this own picture. _My ID... Of course!_

He slipped it over his head and took off after Rouge.

"Did they already come for Shadow then?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah," Soko answered. He blinked. "How the hell do you know about this already?"

"Used to be a spy remember? I still got it."

Soko shook his head. He should have known... "Are the others here too?"

Rouge nodded. "Ready to launch a full-scale attack."

Soko flinched. "Do you have to put it that way?"

"Do you think we can just ask Shadic to come along nicely? Knuckles said that before we can do any good, we've got to take some fight out of her."

"There are other ways," he snapped. Half a second later, it hit him. He grabbed ahold of Rouge's arm and started running the other way.

"Hey!" Rouge cried. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Weapons lab," Soko answered simply. "We've got to get to the weapons lab!"

* * *

Shadow and Shadic stood at opposite sides of the room, glaring at one another. By now, Shadow was looking rather beat-up, while Shadic could have started frothing at the mouth for her anger at any time. She wanted a good fight, and she wasn't going to rest until she got one!

Shadow, too, was beginning to realize that. He figured that if he didn't do something soon, he would be massacred. But what could he do? Shadic was too fast! And worse off, she never seemed to do the same thing twice.

Like now.

She didn't seem to be doing anything. Just standing there, as if giving Shadow a chance to catch his breath. Or trying to catch him off guard.

Shadow wasn't buying it. He wouldn't let her psych out him out! He kept his wide stance and watched her attentively.

Soon Shadic tried yet another new tactic: she began feigning boredom. She loosened up and calmly took a step to the side. Shadow did the same, but went the other way. There was one thing he wanted between himself and her - and that was distance.

"How many blows is it gonna take before you decide to fight back?" Shadic asked as they slowly circled. Shadow offered no answer. "That many huh? Alright, have it your way."

The steady circling ceased as Shadic made a quick dash at Shadow. But he was prepared this time around, and was already moving to dodge.

"Chaos Control!" Shadic yelled, and she disappeared in a blinding flash of light. She had never intended on reaching Shadow after all.

Again, he had been tricked.

Shadow made a three-sixty degree turn in order to relocate her. But Shadic didn't appear to be anywhere in the room.

He knew he was mistaken when he felt a slender arm hook around his neck.

"Next time," Shadic whispered into his ear, "look up."

She used her free arm to hold one of Shadow's hands firmly behind his back. She could feel his quick pulse through his wrist. Whether it was from psychical exertion or plan fear was technically irrelevant, but she hoped it was a decent mixture of both.

Already feeling the burn from lack of proper oxygen levels, Shadow tried desperately to escape. Unable to free himself from the Super hedgehog's strong grasp, he tried the next thing that popped into his head without hesitation - basic instinct.

He curled himself as best he could into a spin dash. This time, Shadic was the one caught off guard. Her hold loosened then broke as Shadow threw her off of his back, nearly mowing her over as he continued rolling. He didn't bother making a graceful stop, either. With hands on knees, he took the time needed to refill his lungs. Even as he did this, his skin began to tingle, as if he could feel how angry Shadic was. A glance upward told him that this were probably true, as she was there before him, levitating a few inches off of the floor, glaring at him.

"Nice grip," Shadow panted.

"I'm still waiting for a decent hit from you," Shadic said. She spread her arms wide. "C'mon, I'm wide open!"

"You're the only person I know who actually _wants_ to get hurt," Shadow sighed as he straightened again.

"This is a waste of my time otherwise!" Shadic snapped exasperatedly. "If you aren't even going to bother putting up a fight, then they might as well take you out back and shoot you!" She balled her hands into fists and dawned a very serious look. "I'm going to ask you _one last time,_" she said slowly. "Will you, or will you not, make any attempt at a decent attack?"

"I believe I already answered that question," Shadow answered. He faintly heard a low-pitched growl from Shadic, but seemed to be able to feel her fury in full.

"Fine," she said in a slightly wavering voice. "We're done."

Shadow didn't even see her move, but the next thing that he was aware of was a knee in his stomach, followed by a fist to the face. Shadic didn't even give him enough time to fall. She grabbed him around the middle and used the power of the Emeralds to take them both towards the high ceiling. With a twist she was able to hurl him back to the ground. He landed with a sharp cry of pain.

Shadic let herself drop and landed on her hands and toes, eyes ablaze.

"Worthless waste of my time," she hissed as she slowly stood. The whites of her eyes slowly darkened to purple. She was preparing for her final attack, and she could already tell that her new power would enhance it ten fold.

Shadic took her time gathering energy for this last blow. It was amusing watching Shadow try to get back to his feet. She could tell that he must be in incredible pain, and that kept him from achieving his goal. The best he could manage was getting to his knees. He grimaced and held on to his left arm tightly, just between the elbow and shoulder. Blood seeped from beneath his fingers. _Must be broken,_ Shadic mused.

She smiled and raised her right arm, taking aim. The aura, combined with the Chaos energy around her, was almost painfully bright, even to her. Sparks of energy danced playfully across her body, gathering at her arm, ready to go.

Shadow raised his head and the two made eye contact, though he could hardly see her. Not only was his vision swimming in and out of focus, but her temporally white fur blended so well with the blinding light around her.

Shadow knew what was coming, and also knew that there was no preparing for it. But somehow he felt that everything would be alright; nothing to worry about. _She won't kill me,_ he found himself thinking._ She'll hold back just enough... I know it..._

And for a long while, nothing seemed to move. Shadic didn't understand why she paused. Something about the look on Shadow's face... He looked downright pathetic, just sitting there, bleeding all over the place. But something else was there as well - trust. Why? She simply did not get it, and the more she tried, the more she made her head hurt. That had to stop.

She attacked.

Instead of a wide blast extending in all directions, a single, concentrated beam left Shadic's arm and met Shadow head-on. _Perfect aim._

Shadow was forced not only into the wall, but through it and the next. Pain like he'd never known seared his already injured body, like being bathed in searing fire and freezing ice, combined with the force of a truck.

Shadic watched with mild satisfaction as Shadow harshly hit the ground outside. He landed upon his stomach on the pile of debris from the two ruined walls. A few loosened pieces that didn't fall at first came down on top of him, but he didn't notice.

Shadic lowered her arm, disappointed that her battle had gone so poorly. She carefully made her way across the rubbish and looked down upon the mangled, bloody hedgehog.

"That's that," she said with a frown.

She wavered and put a hand on what was left of the wall. A dizzy spell had suddenly come on. She closed her eyes and shook her head, and then it passed. "Whoa...what was that?" she mumbled, wondering if she had somehow worn herself out more than she had thought. She also wondered if she would be allowed to maybe rest for awhile... A look over her shoulder towards the watching group didn't give her much hope of that.

* * *

"Soko, what are we looking for?" Rouge asked. 

"Anything that could help us," he answered as both he and Rouge scanned the shelves of the weapon's lab. It was a huge, hangar-like room, filled to bursting with guns, lasers, robots, and traps galore.

"What would that look like?" Rouge asked again. She took a strange, claw-like item from a shelf and examined it. Just as she was putting it back, the metal teeth snapped open. She gave a cry of fright and dropped the item, which hit the concrete floor with a loud clatter.

"What are you doing?" Soko hissed as he poked his head into her isle.

"Sorry!" she quickly apologized.

"Don't touch anything else," he warned harshly as he reached down to return the artifact to its shelf. He rubbed his temple and gave a deep sigh. "You can fly, go up there and see what you can find," he told her, indicating the second level.

Rouge nodded in agreement and stretched her wings. A few strokes got her off the ground, and soon she stood on the landing of the second level. It looked more like where a hospital might store vaccines, and it was significantly cooler up here. Rouge folded her wings again and began searching through these shelves. They were mostly lined with clear, glass bottles filled with various liquids.

"Talk about a bio war..." Rouge whispered to herself. She gave a shudder when she thought about what some of those chemicals would do once inside a person's body...

It didn't take long to go though each isle. By the time she reached the end of the last isle, Rouge was somewhat disappointed. The clock was ticking, and they still hadn't found anything useful.

The dim light hardly reached this far, and because of that Rouge nearly missed the door hidden in the back of the room. She had only noticed it because she had looked back to make sure that there were no more shelves. She reached for the handle, but the door would not open. She narrowed her eyes in the semi-darkness, and saw the dim outline of an electronic lock.

"Hey Soko?" Rouge called. Her voice echoed eerily back to her.

"Yeah?" came Soko's voice, equally distorted.

"I think I found something... A door with a lock. Think your ID can open it?"

A pause.

"Maybe. Hold on."

Rouge's sharp ears followed Soko by the sound of his footsteps. She moved to the other end of the hall to watch his ascent up the metal ladder.

"Where is it?" he asked once he finally caught sight of her.

"This way," Rouge beckoned, and she led him back to the door. "Wonder what's in there?"

"Only one way to find out," Soko answered as he took the ID card from around his neck and slid it neatly through the lock. It beeped it's approval, and a click told them that they could now enter. Soko turned the handle and pushed the heavy door open.

"Whoa..." they both gasped in unison.

They stood before but a single hallway, lit eerily with evenly spaced, dull red lights. Said illumination caused the hundred of tiny jars and vials to glow, adding to the other-worldly effect. And if the second floor could be called cold, this one could only be deemed freezing.

"Check-it-out," Rouge said in a whisper, her breath rising in puffs of vapor before her.

"You may have found something." Soko said, clearly impressed.

"Look at this." Rouge pointed to the nearest container. It held a crystal clear liquid, and was labeled simply as "Power Down".

Soko looked over her shoulder, and carefully took the jar from the self. It felt like ice in his hands, and he wondered briefly how the liquid inside managed to escape freezing. "'Power Down'... he recited quietly. "I'll bet anything that this is what they use to neutralize Shadic's Chaos powers!" he said excitedly. "And look, 'Blood Sample'," he read off of another vial holding a familiar looking emerald green substance. "That could only be hers. I can't believe it, Rain was right! She _does_ have a section all for herself!"

"And I found it," Rouge added proudly, even though she had hardly understood a word of Soko's rambling.

"That you did. Alright, now all we have to do is find something that we can use to our advantage. Something _humane_," he added as Rouge opened her mouth, probably to point out that anything in this room could be used to their advantage.

"Would a net be considered 'humane'?" Rouge asked before bending down to read a card on the bottom shelf. The very few things that were not liquid were kept down here and were labeled with cards. "Oh, never mind. This says it's an electrified net..."

"That's probably what most of them will say," Soko said with a said sigh. He scanned through more of the vials, picking some up, putting most back, but kept a few that may be helpful later on. When the time came to reverse what had happened, he figured that they would need as much of this stuff as possible.

He found what he needed at the very end of the isle. Three lone vials, a card under which labeled them as "Sedative - Levels 1, 2, & 3".

"Perfect!" he said with a smile. Yet it was a smile short lived. "But how can I get it to her?"

"What are you mumbling about now?" Rouge asked.

"I found exactly what we needed: sedatives. But how can we use them on Shadic?"

"Inject them of course. Aren't you supposed to be smart?"

"Rouge, we can't just walk up to her with a syringe in our hands and say, 'Alright Shadic, hold out your arm'," Soko said in an exasperated tone.

"Well, maybe that's what this thing is for," Rouge returned. She backtracked to where she had already looked and triumphantly picked out what looked like a rather oversized gun. "Voilà!"

Soko raised an eyebrow and gave her a disbelieving look. "We're going to shoot her...?"

"No!" Rouge exclaimed, clearly disappointed that he didn't see the magnificence of her find. "See, you fill a syringe, and put it here, I think," she explained, pointing to a space on the front of the object. "It's like a long-range shot!"

"And you just figured all of that out by looking at it?"

"Of course not. I read the label. Hey, how come there are three of those vials?" she asked as Soko took them from the shelf.

"The first one is probably only potent enough to calm Shadic down. So the second should put her out," he guessed.

"So...what about the third one?" Rouge questioned when he did not continue. He held the last vial in his hand and stared at it, as if trying to find the answer.

"I don't know about this one..." he eventually admitted.

"Maybe it knocks her out longer than the other one," Rouge suggested.

"Maybe... Come on, let's get out of here."

"Now hold on. Knuckles wants his Chaos Emeralds back, and I don't see them with you. I'm not going to put up with his whining, so where are they?"

"I've got a pretty good idea."

* * *

"Hey Sonic?" Tails called as he went through the Tornado's shutdown procedure. 

"Yeah little bro?" Sonic answered after jumping off of the wing.

"Did you see that smoke right before we landed?"

"No, what smoke?"

Tails pointed over Sonic's shoulder, and the hedgehog turned and looked up. "Oh, _that_ smoke," he remarked. Sure enough, the sky was darkened by a long, black trail.

"You might want to check that out, Tails," Knuckles suggested as he too lowered himself from the wing. "Could be trouble."

"Trouble?" Amy asked from the passengers seat. "What kind of trouble?"

"Oh who knows. Maybe this place is getting ready to blow, just like Prison Island did," Sonic told her with a smirk.

"Y-you really think so?" she asked slowly.

"Nah, not really," he admitted. "But that's why Tails is here, eh Tails?"

"Right!" the fox responded proudly. He crossed his two tails over each other until the tips were together, then snapped them with a flourish. His spinning tails, acting as helicopter blades, carried him into the air with ease.

"What d'ya see, buddy?" Sonic asked.

"Not much," Tails answered. "It looks like something took the wall out, and there's a lot of light coming from inside."

"We should go check it out too, Sonic," Knuckles said.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Shouldn't we wait 'til Rouge comes back?" Amy asked. Her request was unheard, as Sonic was already gone, and Knuckles was right on his heels. "Ooooh, they _never_ listen to me!"

"C'mon Amy!" Tails called as he landed and jogged after them as well.

"Wait for me!" Amy cried. She scrambled out of her seat and took off to catch up.

* * *

"I can't believe we haven't hit any security yet," Rouge whispered to Soko as they crept through the hall. He put his hand up and she stopped. He looked past the wall, down into the next hallway. 

"You spoke too soon," he murmured.

"How many?" Rouge asked.

"Just one."

"Male?"

"...yeah..."

"Leave him to me," Rouge said slyly.

"Wait, what? Rouge!"

"Relax, she said over her shoulder as she left their hidden location.

Once the guard caught sight of Rouge, he stood quickly and asked, "Are you authorized to be in this facility?"

"Well of course not," Rouge said calmly, at which point Soko covered his eyes out of dread. "I'd think that since that evac. order was issued, no one would be allowed in here."

"Evac? he man repeated slowly. Rouge chuckled and shook her head.

"As in 'evacuation', you know? Oh, you _didn't_ hear about that?" she said before the guard opened his mouth again. "There was a leak up in the labs nearly half an hour ago! You'd better get out while you still can!"

At this, the man paled, and after the initial shock had warn off, bolted for the exit. "They don't pay me enough here! I quit!" he yelled on his way.

"Too easy, as always," Rouge chimed to herself. "The bad man's gone now, you can come out, Soko!"

"If he hadn't been so young and naive, he would have asked what _you_ were still inside for, and we would have been dead!" he scolded.

"You're not so old yourself, believe it or not."

"Then maybe he's just stupid, like someone else I know."

"Well! You're snippy all of a sudden! Fine, go on, lead the way to the Emerald's and then we can go."

Soko gave Rouge another few seconds of glaring, then heaved a sigh. "They're probably still in Shadic's room, just up the hall."

* * *

"Oy, is that-?" Knuckles began as he and Sonic slowed. 

"Shadow!" Sonic finished.

There he was - the great Ultimate Lifeform - stuck under a pile of rocks.

Amy and Tails arrived moments later, by which time Sonic and Knuckles were trying to free Shadow from the debris on top of his hopefully unconscious body.

"Shadow!" Amy cried as her hands went to her mouth. "Is he ok?"

"He's got a regular mountain on top of 'im," Knuckles grunted while he shoved aside a rather large chunk of concrete. "How do you think he is?"

"Uh...S-Sonic?" Tails stammered.

"Hm?" Sonic paused long enough to give his suddenly fearful friend a look of concern. Tails raised his arm and pointed to something behind Sonic and Knuckles, eyes wide and jaw slack. "Wha- Whoa!"

"Who is _that!_" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Who are _you?_ Shadic demanded of them at nearly the same time. She had not yet been able to leave the room, as the door was refusing to open. She was beginning to suspect that perhaps her job was not yet complete...

"Hey guys, guess what? I think we found Shadic already!" Sonic announced unnecessarily. "How's it goin', Shadic?"

Shadic merely blinked; it was clear that she hadn't a clue what was going on. "You've got no tag," Shadic observed. Her eyes trailed slowly to the body of Shadow. "You're helping him." She returned her gaze to Sonic with a growing smile on her face. "You're Sonic the Hedgehog, my second toy for the day."

"Oh boy..." Sonic murmured, ears drooping.

"I sense much pain in your future if you don't move it!" Knuckles hissed.

"Right, you take care of Shad, and I'll keep her bus-aie!"

A certain white-blue ball of fuzz hit Sonic dead on with the force of a cannon ball. Together they flew back through the brush from whence Sonic and the others had just come. Shadic drove Sonic into the ground and flipped out of her spin dash, landing with cat-like grace just above his head. He gave a groan as he sat up, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Okay...that hurt," he admitted. "I didn't know you could go Super," he added as well.

"Is that what this is called then?" Shadic asked as she looked over herself once more. "Can you go Super too?"

"For awhile, yeah." Sonic was back on his feet and watching Shadic tentatively. With Shadow down and out, he was the only one left who could take her on. She did seem to be curious at the moment though, so maybe he could just keep her talking until her power ran out. It had to eventually!

"Then do it," Shadic demanded.

"I can't just 'do it', I need the Emeralds."

As soon as Shadic heard the word "can't", she stopped listening and lunged again. They had been standing so close together that it was no problem seizing Sonic by the wrist without so much as a retort. Sonic soon found himself dangling by one arm many feet in the air, and looking into the eyes of a rather ticked off Shadic.

"You'll do it," Shadic spoke in a hiss so low that Sonic could hardly hear her, though they were barely two inches from each other, "or I'll drop you. And I doubt you'd be in one piece by the time you reach the ground."

"I told you, I don't have the Emerald's, so I can't!" he explained yet again. Shadic let her hold on him loosen just enough for him to slip a little. More than enough to make his heart skip a beat. He looked down over his shoulder to find the tree tops uncomfortably far below. He also noticed a much, much more comforting sight. Rouge and Soko had just emerged from the building, so far away it seemed, each with a number of colored shapes in their arms. _Perfect timing, guys,_ Sonic thought gratefully.

"Okay, okay, you win," he said to Shadic. "Just let me down - gently! - and I'll get the Chaos Emeralds from those guys down there, okay?" He pointed them out to Shadic to give himself some preparation time before continuing. He seriously did _not_ want to do this, for so many reasons. "Then I'll go Super, and," he swallowed with some difficulty, "and we'll have a battle. That's what you want, right? A fight?"

"A challenge," she corrected in a semi-snarl. She gave the offer some thought, then nodded her approval and brought Sonic back down to the ground. She didn't bother waiting until his feet touched the grass before letting go though.

"Right, just gimme a few minutes then," Sonic said as he regained his balance. He then gratefully left Shadic levitating where she was and jogged briskly to the rest of the group.

"What was all of that about?" Tails was the first to ask.

"Well, I think she's pretty darn determined to get into a good fight," Sonic said vaguely. "Rouge 'n Soko not here yet? I saw them coming from up there; guess they were farther off than I thought. They'd better hurry up."

"Would you quit talking so fast already?" Knuckles snapped before Sonic continued on, a mile a minute. "What, you want a bigger audience for when you get pounded? What are you even doing talking to us? What's goin' on!"

Sonic snickered. "Hey, calm down already Knux. I just need to nick the Chaos Emeralds from those guys. Shadic wants me to go Super too." He frowned. "Says that she wants a challenge..." He fell silent, and Knuckles took it that he was afraid.

"Aww, wittle Sonic doesn't have to be scawred," he taunted in a mock-up baby voice.

"I ain't scared!" Sonic cried. "I just don't wanna hurt her, you know? It'd be just like having to fight Tails. Besides, she doesn't mean to be like this."

"Um, Sonic?" Tails spoke up. "I think she kinda meant to do that." He pointed to the now free form of Shadow. Amy was using the first aid kit from the Tornado to clean up some of his smaller wounds, but she couldn't do much.

"Ah, well, you know what I mean..." Sonic muttered, his ears flattening. "Hey, it's about time those guys got here."

By the time Sonic had looked away from Shadow, Rouge and Soko had finally arrived, laden with all sorts of items, including all seven Chaos Emeralds.

"Is that Shadow? What happened!" Rouge gasped. Whatever she was holding was thrown at Sonic, and she ran off to get the story from Amy.

"Shadic..." Soko murmured, gazing at her with a lost, pained expression. It made Sonic pity him.

"No worries, Sok!" he said brightly. "I'll keep her occupied while you try and keep her from killing me, cool?"

Soko nodded but looked slightly sick. "Keep her attention off of us...just for awhile. We've found some sedatives to use, but we have to get close enough."

"Alright, we've got a plan! And I'll be needing these," Sonic said as he dropped what Rouge handed him and took the rest of the Emeralds from Soko. "Good luck."

"You...you too," Soko choked. Somehow seeing the wild looking Shadic and knowing that a broken Shadow lay a few feet away made this seem unusually, terribly real for the first time. He was dimly aware of setting the remaining objects he carried on the gently swaying grass, and sitting before the strange gun-like contraption. Hopefully, they could get it to work, and more importantly, get it to work right the first time.

Eventually, he noted that his fur was blowing about madly in a sudden, unnatural wind. He flattened his ears against the roar of this wind and looked up at Sonic, whom had just gone Super. Over his shoulder, Sonic grinned and gave Soko a thumbs-up, for he knew that the green hedgehog was going to need all the encouragement he could get. Then he turned and locked his glowing red eyes with the still purple of Shadic's. He allowed the Chaos energy now flowing all around to lift him from the ground, and slowly made his way to her. Regret clawed at his insides like a raging animal, but he knew what he had to do. He had to fight Shadic - really fight. Unless he could find ways to get around it, there wouldn't be any holding back, or it would probably cost him his life.

"Well, you've finally finished," Shadic said as he stopped, leaving a bit of room between them this time. "For being called Sonic, you seem pretty slow."

"Aww c'mon, you haven't even seen me at it yet," Sonic told her, rapidly coming up with a plan while he still could.

"Hmph," Shadic snorted. "Then show me what you can do."

The two launched at each other, Shadic with one fist raised. When they met, Shadic swung, but Sonic completely over-shot her, and soared over her head leap-frog style.

"If I'm so slow, come and get me!" he called. He had to laugh at the bewildered look upon Shadic's face. Shadic growled at him, revealing her sharp, white teeth, and gave chase.

"Well Sonic, you've got her attention," he muttered to himself while the two bolted in and out among the trees. "I hope they hurry up."

* * *

"Well Sir," a woman said coldly to Sam, while the rest of her colleagues remained silent, "I hope you're happy." 

"Oh yes, quite," he replied.

"We just lost our multi-billion dollar project," the old man wailed in a daze.

"And it was a billion well spent," Sam added happily. "And now that this is all over, I think I'm taking a long vacation."

"It isn't over yet," a wolf in his thirties snapped. "She isn't dead, so maybe your plan won't work out after all."

"Bah, it's just as well. Shadic's going to kill Sonic, and if he doesn't take her out with him, the Chaos Emeralds will. You all might as well go home and get some rest. Every one of you could use it."

Sam held up a hand as if to ward off further argument and made his way out of the room. He practically bounced down the hall, and decided to take the stairs for once. He was absolutely joyous, for the first time in who knew how long.

At the bottom of the stairs, he passed by the door to the training room, still locked on his orders. Next to the door, a young man sat gloomily on the floor. Sam cleared his throat loudly, and the man looked up with a start. He jumped to his feet and mumbled a hasty apology.

"What are you doing down here?" Sam asked. The youth's eyes bolted back and forth nervously, and his hands shook terribly.

"Tha-that thing's gonna ki-ki-kill us," he stammered.

Sam immediately paled. "What thing...?"

"That girl...the hedgehog... I don't wanna die!" the man cried hysterically.

"Get ahold of yourself!" Sam snapped. "Listen, go home and get some sleep. A lot of us are doing just that. Don't worry about a thing, everything was taken care of. That girl's dead now."

"Dead...?" the man repeated. "Really?"

"Absolutely," Sam answered. He watched as the man heaved a sigh of relief, relaxed, nodded his thanks and started slowly away. "In fact," Sam started again, "tell everyone you see that they can have the rest of the day off. Spread the word for me."

"Yes, Sir!" the man responded enthusiastically.

Sam wished that he could share the youths enthusiasm. He had guessed, even expected to receive death threats from Shadic eventually. But somehow, it still scared him. Why? He could easily tell everyone that she was over and done with already, but why was he second-guessing himself now?

"I'm getting out of here," Sam said to himself as he began walking again, "before I change my mind."

* * *

Sonic learned two things so far. One: he was still the fastest thing alive. Two: that had to make Shadic the most agile. Through the woods there were few straight-aways, but when they hit them, it was Sonic's chance to get ahead. But most areas were covered with trees and branches that were difficult to dodge at these speeds. Sonic could stop and turn on a dime, but Shadic didn't need to. She used the trees as shortcuts, and would kick off of their trunks to get a speed boost. 

They neared the last clearing, the one Sonic had seen on the way here. In fact, it was a cliff; one Shadic knew as well. But since the two could soar as well as any bird, it didn't pose the same threat.

Sonic stole a glance behind him, to see how close Shadic was now. To his surprise, he didn't see her, until a white flash to his right caught his eye.

Shadic kicked off of another tree, and launched herself at Sonic like a missile. She tackled him, and without thinking sunk her teeth into his soft ear. Sonic gave a wail of pain and tried to get loose, but didn't want to risk tearing his fragile ear.

The two bounced and rolled on the ground, and tumbled over the edge of the cliff. Levitation was impossible while one clung to the other, and so they fell. Either way there was pain to be dealt, and the water below helped Sonic to decide that a few stitches in the ear might not be so bad.

Sonic twisted, hard, and elbowed Shadic in the stomach. She let go with a gasp of pain, and though the wind had been knocked out of her, she managed to regain the balance necessary to keep from falling any further. Sonic had leveled out as well, though he grimaced against his damaged ear.

Shadic had to pause to catch her lost breath, as did Sonic, snarling hatefully as she waited. A thin coat of blood covered her front teeth, and Sonic knew that since it was red, it was his own.

_I'm bleeding when I'm supposed to be invincible!_ Sonic thought to himself. He haphazardly dodged as Shadic charged him yet again, now that she had had enough time to breathe. He wanted nothing more than to be playing the chase game again, especially as Shadic turned and headed his way again, eyes blazing. But they had already come so far, and he was supposed to stay near the group so they could do their part.

He'd have to stay here.

Sonic took a fighting pose and a deep breath as well. As much as he detested it, there was no more he could do other than take Shadic head-on.

* * *

"I don't hear them anymore," Tails complained. 

"So much for the 'staying close' plan..." Knuckles grumbled. "Better prep the Tornado."

"I'm on it!"

While Tails went to start the bi-plane, Knuckles took the job of updating the others.

"Looks like we're takin' to the skies," he told Rouge, Amy, and a greener-than-usual Soko.

"What should we do? We can't all fit," Amy reminded him.

"You and Rouge find somewhere to lie low. Take Shadow too." He turned to Soko, who was clutching his weapon tightly and staring at the ground. "You figure out how to work that thing?"

"I think so..." Soko answered quietly.

"C'mon then, you take back seat, I get the wing. Ever fly before?" he asked lightly as he headed towards the plane, motioning for Soko to follow. "I take your silence as a no. It's a hoot, but hold on tight; Tails likes to flip the thing, and he hasn't gotten around to installing passenger side seat belts yet."

At this, Soko's grip on the gun increased, and the look on his face told it all: _I'm glad I didn't eat anything today..._

_

* * *

_  
By the time Shadic reached Sonic, he was ready. She had her arm raised again, ready for another punch, but didn't realize that this left her right side unprotected. When Shadic threw her punch, Sonic had already begun to duck. He kicked outward, and his foot connected with her vulnerable side. She winced, but wasted no time for recovery. Shadic caught ahold of his leg and threw him into the rock wall, much as she had done with Shadow. A cloud of dust erupted upon his impact.

Before the dust had a chance to clear, Sonic exploded forth from the cloud, curled into a spin dash. His dash was so fast and unexpected that Shadic didn't even have time to think about moving, let alone doing it, and so he collided with her, and this time drove _her_ into the rocky wall.

She was still seeing stars when she kicked of of the wall, but there was a strange sense of urgency that kept her moving. She couldn't so much as slow down, yet she couldn't tell if it was just because she didn't want to, or because she really, literally _couldn't_ stop.

Sonic saw her coming, and was unsuccessful in his own thrown punch, though he did manage to graze her cheek. Shadic, on the other hand, was quite successful with her uppercut, which smashed into the underside of his chin. He must have bitten his tongue then, as Sonic had the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

He vaguely heard Shadic yell the words "Chaos Control!", and so wasn't altogether surprised when she spin dashed him from below. The force of her attack sent both of them soaring skyward, though Shadic's flight was on a controlled path, and Sonic's wasn't. Once Shadic veered to the side, there was nothing to keep Sonic from falling again and gravity took over.

Sonic felt his change of direction, but was too disoriented to do anything about it. Those last three blows were doozy's, and he still felt the sting from the first one!

He slowly opened his eyes, and felt as if the bottom of his stomach dropped out. Sonic had heard of Shadic's specialty attack; he had even seen it briefly one time, but it wasn't aimed to hurt then.

"Oh no..." he murmured. Shadic was smirking knowingly at him, and her solid purple eyes and the additional bright outline dancing around her made Shadic seem simply all powerful, not to mention fearsome.

She didn't bother with carefully shaping this energy blast into a collective beam like last time. It took too much concentration, and she was starting to feel far too tired and overworked.

Her attack went in every direction, like a sphere pushing outward. From Sonic's perspective, it looked much like a tidal wave, heading straight for him. And since he was merely free falling, he could do nothing but wait for the wave to catch him. He didn't have to wait long; the attack turned his fall into a plummet, and felt like liquid fire flowing over him.

Sonic had no hope nor thought of being able to stop himself from the harsh landing he would receive. But when he did hit bottom, it was with a _thud,_ and not a splash. So he had enough luck to hit the strip of land beside the small river, and not in the water itself.

He let out a soft groan. If he was in this much pain now, in his Super form, he hated to think how bad it would be once he went back to normal. That would be a moment he dreaded.

Even though he didn't think he'd be able to get up again, Sonic found himself rolling over, very slowly, very carefully, and began to rise. Once he was on his feet again, he stood half doubled-over, and could hear his own heavy breathing hissing through his teeth.

Sonic watched as Shadic descended back to his level, and was pleasantly surprised to find that she kept her distance, rather than handing it to him again. Was it just him, or did she seem awfully run down all of a sudden? Or had he simply not noticed until now?

Her transaction from air to land was not a smooth one. Levitation ceased when she was still a few inches from the ground, and the shock of a brief fall nearly made her knees buckle. Sweat rolled down her face, and she seemed to be panting even heavier than Sonic. She must be shaking as well, for the tips of her ears were quivering slightly.

"Are you okay?" Sonic asked, giving voice to concern in spite of himself.

"_Fine,_" she spat, but then she added, "Why...?"

"You don't look so good," he said with a frown.

"Worry about yourself," she meant to say harshly, though it came out much quieter than she wanted. Shadic couldn't figure out just what was going on. She had remembered feeling a little dizzy after finishing with Shadow, but that had gone away as soon as she had started the battle with Sonic. But now it came back; much worse this time. Why should she, the one who had taken hardly any hits, be the one who was so exhausted? She had meant that last assault to be the end of it, for a good reason. Everything had gone into the previous attack, and it had left her with nothing. She didn't think she could fight much longer - she didn't even _want_ to anymore!

"Maybe you ought to take a break," Sonic suggested tentatively. "You know, sit down before you fall down?"

"You gonna make me?"

"No," he said simply, "but you need it. And it's not like I plan to slit your throat or anything if you take a break. I'm just trying to help. And so are those guys."

Sonic took a chance and pointed out the quickly growing speck in the distance. Shadic wasn't going to look, but curiosity always won, even in times like this. She turned to the side, so that any movement made by Sonic could be still seen in her peripheral vision. It would have been impossible to miss the small plane traveling in their direction. Shadic would have dismissed it, if she hadn't have recognized the orange fox operating at the controls. It didn't take her long to figure out what was going on.

"You...you cheated!" she sputtered, her eyes growing wide and afraid.

"We're not _cheating,_" Sonic said softly. "We don't wanna hurt you, really! You might not know it, but there's something really wrong with you, and we're gonna make it right, 'cause we're on your side!" he quickly explained.

"You cheated!" Shadic repeated the accusation again, this time in a panicky voice. She took a few fearful, jerky steps backward, then realized that this would put her nearer to the plane. She didn't want to be near _any _of these people anymore. What had she been thinking!

"Why don't you come with us?" Sonic continued, shamefully knowing that the odds had now tipped in his favor. "You can't stay here."

"I'm _not_ going with _you,_" Shadic cried. She took another look behind her, and decided what the best plan was...

She ran, ramming into Sonic's shoulder as she went. He went down, and she continued on as fast as she could away from the Tornado.

Shadic didn't know nor care where she was heading; she just wanted to get away. Earlier the idea of such uneven odds would have appealed to her. Then again, her limbs hadn't felt like jello before.

"I'm not going with them," she panted encouragingly to herself. "I'm not going!"

* * *

Knuckles raised a hand to shield his eyes and continued scanning the ground below. 

"There they are!" he called to Tails. "Wait...why is Shadic running away?"

Tails straightened in his seat to see over his instruments better. "I don't know," he answered, "but we should be able to keep up. This might even make things easier for us!"

"I think Sonic's hurt," Soko said, barely loud enough for Tails to hear. Again the fox squirmed in his seat to see if this were true. It was an easy task to find the golden form of Sonic starting to rise once again.

"Knuckles!" Tails yelled. It was harder to get this attention, as he was standing above them on the wing. He must have heard, since he bent down to hear better. "How about you go and help Sonic? Soko and I should be able to take it from here."

Knuckles gave him an upside-down thumbs-up and disappeared off the back of the Tornado. Tails could feel Soko turning around in his seat.

"What's he doing?" he asked.

"Don't worry," Tails assured him. "Knuckles might not be able to fly, but he's very good at gliding."

Sure enough, Knuckles' fall was a slow one, and he landed quite safely. Once he was out of sight, Soko turned frontwards again with a long sigh. These people were going to give him a heart attack with all of their crazy stunts.

* * *

When Shadic saw the red shape fall off of the plane, she sped up, unsure of what is was, and unwilling to find out. 

_You're a coward._

It seemed that the same voice from a few nights before suddenly decided to speak again.

"Not...not now," Shadic grumbled tiredly. She looked back and saw that whatever had come from the plane wasn't following, but she still didn't bother to slow down any.

_Your opponent gets a little assistance, and you run away. Coward._

Shadic made a noise somewhere between a growl and a whimper, and tried to ignore the voice hissing in her ears.

_Turn around and finish your job!_

"I'm too tired... I'll lose!"

_You already lost anyway._

"I did not!" Shadic roared. After that, she heard nothing more from the strange other voice. It never even struck her as odd that she was hearing things in her head again.

Shadic took another step and stumbled, as her leg decided that it wasn't going to support her weight any longer, and she scrambled to keep moving. Anymore she was having a difficult time making her body do what she wanted.

Up ahead, the water to Shadic's left split into two streams. One continued flowing straight, while the other curved further left, seemingly into the rocky wall itself. If there were an opening, it would make a perfect hiding place - one where the plane couldn't go.

"I can make it," Shadic told herself. "I have to!"

* * *

"Soko!" Tails called over the wind. "We might have a problem!" 

"What is it?" Soko said into Tails' ear as he leaned forward. Tails pointed to the stream of dust that was the fleeing Shadic, then slowly moved his arm towards where she seemed to be heading. "A cave...?" Soko murmured in bewilderment. Could nothing else go wrong?

Tails turned to face Soko, and in an urgent voice said, "If she goes in there, it's over - we won't be able to follow! All we can do is fly low and hope that thing shoots far enough. You're only gonna get one chance," he added with a frown. After seeing the lack of confidence on Soko's face, he boldly stated, "It's now or never!" and took the plane into a steep dive, leaving Soko with no time for doubt.

"What if I miss?" he asked as he gripped the sides of the Tornado to keep from sliding out of his seat.

"You won't," Tails said over his shoulder. "You hit all of us with tranquillizers before, remember? You can do it again!"

It was a strange way to give him encouragement, but it was all Tails could think of to say. Besides, they were out of time.

Tails jerked back on the control stick and brought the plane out of its dive. They were now close enough for him to see that Shadic wasn't quite as white as before.

"Shadic must be getting too tired to hold her Super form," he said more to himself than Soko. She was lasting an awfully long time for her first try.

"Get ready, Soko!"

Tails shifted to one side to give him a better shot, and Soko chanced half-standing so he was as close as he could possibly get. He still looked somewhat ill, but Tails had to admire him or his still steady hand.

"If this doesn't work," he said nervously to the fox, "we don't have a backup plan."

"We won't need one."

Soko closed his eyes for a moment. "I hope you're right..."

And as much as he didn't want to, as much as he hated it, Soko finally pulled the trigger.

* * *

Just as Shadic entered the cool, moist cave, she felt a stinging pain in the middle of her back. She gave a sharp cry and tried to reach whatever had struck her, but it was in a place that she couldn't get to - around where the two quills came off of her shoulder blades. Knowing that the object sticking to her must have come from those people following her, she desperately wanted to get rid of it. 

Shadic curled into a ball and rolled, trying to knock it off that way, but she only succeeded in driving it in deeper. She wailed in frustration and came out of her roll, continuing on through the cave.

The area around where she had been struck had gone numb, and the sensation was beginning to spread rapidly. The ground seemed to be tilting, and the confusing illusion caused Shadic to stumble and veer into the wall. She scraped much of her left side on the coarse stone, but couldn't really feel any pain. Her vision became blurry, and her eyes refused to refocus. She could see or feel nothing...couldn't hear...couldn't think...

She never noticed when she came completely out of her Super form, and her fur darkened to silver again. Nor did she noticed dropping, and tumbling out of control due to the momentum she had.

By the time she stopped moving, Shadic was in a deep, drug-induced sleep. She lie on her side, somewhere far into the cave, her wet fur matted and stained green in places. And she remained aware of absolutely nothing.

* * *

Tails brought the bi-plane down in a relatively clear area not far away, keeping the propeller spinning so they could leave quickly. He was startled when he heard a loud metallic clunk just as he was starting to get out. Worried that something was wrong with the Tornado, he whirled towards the source of the sound, but only found Soko, already on the ground with the dart-gun at his feet. Tails gave him a questioning look, wondering why he had thrown it. 

"I've shot at Shadic three times so far," Soko said solemnly, looking away from Tails. "Hit twice. I'd rather not do it again." He gave the fox an end-of-discussion sort of look before walking off towards the cave. "Come on. We have to find her."

"Right." As Tails scrambled after Soko, he was strongly tempted to ask about that third, missed shot at Shadic. Of course, he held his tongue, knowing that this wasn't the right time, not that there ever would be one. "You know, after we find her, we have to go get Sonic and Knuckles too," he said instead. "Not to mention Amy, Rouge, and Shadow..."

What he didn't tell Soko was that they had hardly been able to fit in the Tornado the first time, and that with three additional passengers, there wouldn't be room for everyone. It might be a big problem later, but he'd keep it to himself for now - at least until they regrouped.

When the two entered the cave, they both had to hold onto the wall to find their way. Tails' eyes were sharper than Soko's, so his were able to adjust to the darkness sooner.

"I really hope that tranquillizer worked, Soko," he said uneasily. "If it didn't, Shadic's gonna be really angry, and it's not exactly big in here..."

"Oh, it worked," Soko answered quietly. He pointed downward, where Tails could see faint footprints on the ground. "The strides aren't as even as they were further back, nor are they straight. She had to have been getting drowsy at this point."

"But she kept going," Tails noted. He paused before adding, "I wonder why she didn't stop?"

"Panic...fear... How was she to know what was going on?"

Tails could tell from Soko's tone that he was still feeling miserable. No wonder he had thrown the gun away; Tails didn't even pull the trigger and he felt guilty!

"That must have been scary," Tails said sadly. "Poor Shadic..." The fox hung his head shamefully, and in doing so happened to find that the footprints left by Shadic had all but disappeared, only to be replaced by random, splotchy shapes. He was just about to mention this to Soko when he instead ran right into him.

"Ow, what's-"

Tails didn't have to finish his sentence, and froze just as Soko had done.

"We found her..."

Soko slowly, almost cautiously began to approach the still form of Shadic. She lay with her back curved slightly, her limbs strewn before her and eyes closed. One hand rested palm-down near her face; the other lay stretched out farther from her body, the fingers half-curled and relaxed.

Soko dropped to his knees beside her, staring. He tentatively touched one of the many scrapes on Shadic's upper arm, knowing that if she could feel any pain at all, the action would at least cause her to flinch. But he got no reaction from her at all.

"That must have been a really strong sedative," Tails whispered oddly, unable to stand the awkward silence. Soko didn't seem to have heard, and was working on removing the dart from Shadic's back - something she seemed to have tried herself. He held it in the palms of his hands, eventually closing his fingers around it and continued to look blank. Tails shifted his weight back and forth, want to say something, but doubting that anything would get through to him.

"We'd better go..." he heard Soko mumble, "while she's still sleeping..."

"How long do you think that will be?"

Soko shook his head, but didn't really answer. He wasn't sure about the drugs potency, but if he and Rouge were right about number three being the strongest, it would probably be awhile.

He gently scooped Shadic into his arms and stood, his mouth a thin, straight line. He walked past Tails without a word, seeming to be off in his own little world. Tails flattened his ears and followed, keeping his silence as well during the short trip back through the cave.

The two headed straight to the Tornado, and while Tails jumped right into his seat, Soko waited. It seemed that he had spotted the little problem of space for himself.

"We won't all be able to fit," he said with a heavy voice.

"I know..." Tails sighed. "Don't worry though, we'll figure something out. You and Shadic are going to have to share a seat, and someone else will have to stand is all. Just be careful while you're climbing up."

Soko knew that even with that set-up there wouldn't be enough room. He pushed the issue from his mind, however; he had plenty to worry about as it was, and Tails was probably better at problem solving than he anyway.

Since he had to have at least one free hand to get to his seat, he had no choice but to drape Shadic's limp form over his shoulder and hold her around the waist. Then he was able to slowly climb into the plane, where he was faced with the second puzzle of how to fit two into a seat designed for one. Awkward as it was, the only was it could be comfortable done was for Shadic to sit on his lap, sideways so that her quills would not poke him in the chest.

"Ready?" Tails asked once Soko seemed settled.

Soko nodded, but another voice shouted, "Wait!"

Neither had been paying attention, and so neither had noticed Knuckles running as fast as he could towards them, burdened by what looked like an unconscious Sonic over his shoulders.

"Hey guys," Knuckles panted. "Mission success?"

"Yup, thanks to Soko!" Tails chimed. He gave Soko a friendly smile, but Soko continued to look glum and kept his gaze low. Tails frowned and turned away, shaking his head. He hated to see someone so blue for so long.

"You'd better watch yourself, Soko," Knuckles warned. "Hedgehogs seem to be dropping like flies today."

The hedgehog's reply was an icy sidelong glare that very clearly told both Knuckles and Tails to shut up.

"So how's Sonic?" Tails asked quietly, giving up on Soko for awhile. "Is he gonna be ok?"

"Yeah, but he's definitely going to need some patching up," Knuckles said seriously. "And he's not the only one."

"Will you be able to ride with him on the wing?"

"As long as you don't do any flips."

Three metallic bangs from above soon told Tails that Knuckles was set, and at long last he took off.

The young fox gave a sigh of relive and sat back in his seat, gratefully letting the cool wind blow the bangs out of his face. He'd love to say that this nightmare was over, but that wouldn't be true. He was going to have to ask Soko what he wanted to do with Shadic sometime soon. Sonic and Shadow were probably going to need medial attention. Then again, they still had the problem of transportation, and the fact that the group was still on dangerous grounds... And Sonic wasn't exactly in a position to help him like he usually was.

"I'm on my own," Tails murmured in a soft, sing-song voice. The sound was gone long before passing through anyone else's ears. "But that's ok.

He made a few passes over the area where he had thought they had left Amy, Rouge, and the downed Shadow, but failed in his efforts to spot them. A wave of fear nearly drove him into a panic, until a glint of light from below caught his eye.

Now deeper into the brush than they had started, both Amy and Rouge were jumping up and down, frantically waving their arms over their heads to draw Tails' attention. The light must had been the sun reflecting off of Amy's bracelets.

Tails allowed himself a laugh, instantly relieving the previous feelings of stress. He smiled and began the routine search for a clearing to land in.

"You had me worried for a second!" he called to them. This time he let the Tornado power down, so there wasn't as much noise, and to allow the machine time to cool.

"We had to move," Rouge explained, "some sentry 'bots were getting a little too close."

Meanwhile, Amy practically tackled Knuckles in her efforts to reach Sonic. "Oh, my poor Sonic!" she wailed. "What happened to his ear?"

"You tell me," Knuckles said with a shrug. "But if you're not careful, you're gonna end up strangling him."

"Somehow I think he's very lucky to be unconscious," Rouge whispered. She turned towards Soko and eyed the sleeping Shadic laying in his arms. "Guess that stuff really did the trick, huh?" She reached over to put a finger under Shadic's chin and lifted her head a little, to get a better look. "She could use a couple of bandages too. So what are you going to do with her now?"

"I've been meaning to ask you that myself," Tails jumped in. He unbuckled himself and turned around in his seat, resting his head upon his arm. "What do you think?"

Soko remained quiet before answering, being careful with his choice of words. "I don't know... We planned this poorly," he spoke slowly.

"Poorly?" Rouge repeated with a laugh. "I was under the impression that we didn't plane this _at all!_"

"What we need is a damn laboratory," Soko spat impatiently. "And we don't have one," he added in a softer tone.

"What about mine?" Tails asked.

"That's more of a robotics lab, Tails," Knuckles reminded him, now getting into the conversation himself. "Shadic's not a machine, you know. What about that one near the Mystic Ruins? You still have that don't you?"

"Oh, that's right!" Tails gasped. "It's kinda small, but it should work pretty well. I have a lot more hi-tech stuff there anyway."

"And it's out of the way," Knuckles added. "You know, just in case things get a little...out of hand..."

"Fine," Soko agreed after a brief, awkward silence, "we'll take her there. Now how do we do that?"

"Ah, right," Tails grumbled. "Well, the way I see it, Knuckles, Soko, and I should take Shadic to my workshop. Amy and Rouge should probably take Sonic and Shadow to the nearest hospital. Only problem is..."

"We've only got one ride," Rouge finished. "And a small one at that."

"Exactly. And I don't think we can really afford to make two trips. We need to get Shadic somewhere safe before that drug wears off, but we can't leave those two lying around like this - especially here. And there's no way we can get everyone in the Tornado at the same time."

"Are there any doctor's around here within walking distance?" Knuckles asked doubtfully.

"Not unless you turn around and go right back to GUN," Soko answered bluntly.

"Well what about Nena?" Amy suggested. "She has a car."

"Does it look like she's here?" Soko growled through gritted teeth. He obviously still was not on good terms with Nena.

"It was just an idea!" Amy retorted hotly. "You don't have to be so grouchy."

"Wait, Amy's idea _is_ a good one!" Almost immediately, Tails was turned frontwards in his seat again and was booting up the Tornado's small on-board computer.

"But even if she had left before us, it would take Nena all day to get here," Rouge said.

"Yeah, but she _does_ live around here, doesn't she Soko?"

Soko gave the fox a quizzical look, wondering where he was going with this. Not that Tails caught it, as he was busy with the control panel. "Yes... But still too far to walk," he answered with the idea that perhaps Tails planned for Rouge and Amy to await Nena's arrival there.

"They won't have to! Nena has three kids, and if they're home, maybe they could come pick you up."

"And how do you expect to ask them that?" Knuckles questioned. Tails answered by tapping the small screen before him.

"E-mail!" he proudly announced. "Lucky for us, the oldest son is almost always at a computer. That's how Sonic first met Shadic, remember? He told us that he just happened to be using my computer when Nena's son set up an instant message for them. Kind of ironic, if you think about it..." he mused.

"Why would Kevin do that?" Soko asked, an almost suspicious tone to his voice. He had never known of the time Nena had brought Shadic home, as it wasn't something he had to know at the time. He had only heard that Nena was the one who had first let Shadic run away. Perhaps it was actually _Kevin's_ fault.

"I don't know," Tails said as he began typing a message. "But it's pretty lucky that he did, don't you think? We never would have met you two otherwise."

"Oh, yes you would have," Soko said to himself. He busied himself by smoothing the fur atop Shadic's head. "They would have met you, at least," he continued softly, though he knew that Shadic nor anyone else could hear when he spoke so quietly. "Just like this. Except instead of unconscious, they'd be dead. All of them." Such a chilling, morbid thought, true as it was.

By the time Soko glanced upward again, Tails had already sent his message, and the others were absorbed in another conversation as they hopefully awaited a reply. Knuckles seemed to be telling the story of his encounter with the injured Sonic.

"I told him he might as well give up the Super form, because Tails had the rest covered. He only would if I promised not to repeat anything he said once he did." He paused to snicker, as if he found something incredibly humorous. "And I won't. I'll just let you guys fill in the bleeps; trust me, there's a lot of them."

"Sonic swore?" Tails asked with wide eyes. "He hardly ever does that!"

"Hardly ever doesn't mean never."

"Geez, today's just full of surprises, isn't it?" Rouge said with a laugh and a shake of her head.

"Your screen is flashing," Soko warned Tails.

"Huh?" Tails wasn't paying attention, but found that he was right. "Hey, he answered already!"

"What's it say?" Amy asked as she and the others crowded around the screen.

"We're in luck!" Tails announced after skimming through the beginning of the return message. "He says that he'd be glad to help out, even though he's not supposed to use the car. But he agrees that this is an emergency, and that should justify the act. And he says that he'll leave right away, and when he gets here, he'll park somewhere unnoticeable by security, and will wait for you there. So you two have to keep an eye out for him," he told Amy and Rouge as he read more thoroughly. "It will still probably take Kevin awhile to get here though."

"We can take it," Rouge assured him. "Just drop Sonic over there by Shad, and we'll be good little girls and wait, won't we Amy?"

"No problem!"

"Alright, just keep hidden and watch out for any stray security 'bots, okay?"

"Quit worrying about us and get going already!" Rouge scolded to Tails. "You forget that you don't exactly have all the time in the world. You start the plane, Knuckles can help Amy get Sonic situated, and I'll go grab the stuff Soko and I picked up."

"Who made you the boss?" Knuckles grumbled, even as he did as told.

"I did. Somebody's gotta keep things organized here."

In no time at all, Sonic was carefully moved, the Tornado was again up and running, and Rouge and Knuckles were trying to fit all seven Chaos Emeralds plus the small stash of jars, vials, and what-not into the even smaller storage space.

"If you think of it," Tails told Amy as they waited, "give us a call once you get to the hospital. Do you have the number?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, we'll take good care of them," Amy promised once she saw the concerned look Tails threw in Sonic's direction. "And you make sure to do what you can for Shadic, okay?"

"We will."

"Looks like you're all set to fly guys," Rouge soon announced. "Good luck!"

"You too! Ready up there, Knuckles? It's gonna be a long flight."

"As ready as I'll get..."

"Come on, we'd better back up," Rouge warned Amy as Tails began to take off. They both waved and watched until eventually the small plane got smaller and smaller, until they could see it no more.

"Think they'll be able to reverse whatever those horrible people did to Shadic?" Amy asked.

"Sure!" Rouge answered with complete confidence. "They've got Tails for brains, to find out what to do and how to do it. Soko, who probably knows more about Shadic inside and out than she does. And on the off chance things get a little wild, Knuckles is there to hold her down."

"I hope you're right. We need more girls in the house."

The two had a good laugh at the remark, and found a nice, concealed spot to sit and wait for their ride.

"Everything will be just like it was soon enough," Rouge said. "We just have to give it a little time."

* * *

A/N: For anyone who's flipping out due to the whole sci-fi-ish twist of that "other voice", I'll try 'n do it justice in the next chapter. It may be a kind of spoiler, but there's more to it then just to cause sci-fi haters to wish pain on my head. /insert maybe sort of spoiler warning here/ You _could_ think of it in terms of there being a "light" Shadic and a "dark" Shadic. There are enough cartoons with that plot in them for that to help confused ones out there. During times in the chapter you just read, there are slight differences in how she acts, maybe so slight that no one's gonna notice but me, but maybe you'll pick it up after reading this. You could say that the "light" and "dark" halves are having a tug-of-war type thing going on, and when she seems more cruel (kicking the can out of either Sonic or Shadow's rear end, acting all demanding and like a jerk, etc), the "dark" half is winning. Other times (when she holds back for Shadow, decides to run from the Sonic-crew instead of fighting more), the "light" half is more in control, so she's more like herself. It's not _exactly_ how I should explain it, but it's the best way I can think of, 'cause my mind is fried and I wanna sleep...mehe! Maybe I made the message I wanted to send in the story actually visible to one of you, who knows? 


	27. Strength is Weakness

Shadic's Escape Chapter 28: Strength is Weakness

Wow, it's amazing how much can happen in a rather short amount of time. Throughout the writing of this chapter, a lot has happened in my little bubble. Some good, some bad, and a few recent things that I'd just as soon forget if I could. I choose not to elaborate on that one, but I'm now employed, have chosen a college, plan to apply here soon too (wish me luck!), and heck, I just recently figured out that I can actually count how many _terms_ are left in my high school career. Really, it's a wonder I finally got this done at all! To be completely honest, I finished the writing probably two months ago, but either didn't have the time or the motivation to type and upload it. It doesn't help that I'm not fond of this chapter…it's more like a precursor to future events, and wouldn't be so bad if it were in a book and read right after chapter 27, and then followed immediately by chapter 29. My loooooong absences are probably costing me a lot of readers, but hey. I write for myself, and it's just an added bonus if others enjoy the story too! Seriously, Shadic's character has become my little guardian of sorts. I guess that's why I continue to chug along, even if it _is_ at a dead snail's pace!

STRENGTH IS WEAKNESS

Many hours later, Tail fought to hold down yet another yawn. He had been flying all day, and as much as he loved it, it was tiring all the same. It was hard on the Tornado as well…she had had a long, hard day. Times like this sure made him grateful that his machine ran off of Chaos energy from the false gem he had created. If he sat up real tall, he could even see a bit of the glow coming from the plane's front, almost like a single headlight guiding the way.

"Soko?" he called in a sleepy voice. He wasn't used to such a quiet passenger, and so felt it necessary to check up on him once in awhile. He had to repeat the hedgehog's name to bring him out of an apparent daze, after which he at least made a grumbling noise to let Tails know that he was listening. "Are you still all right back there?"

"Fine… Stiff, but fine," Soko answered.

"We should get to my place soon," Tails said as he looked below. "We're over Station Square now."

Soko thought that he was used enough to flying by now to give it a look for himself. Far, far below he could see a large, busy city. Small specks, most likely vehicles, moved leisurely back and forth beneath street lights that were just beginning to come on.

A moment or two later, Soko looked away from Station Square, having reminded himself quite enough that they were beyond a comfortable height.

"How's Shadic doing?" Tails decided to ask. "Still sleeping?"

"Yes, same as before," Soko answered without much enthusiasm. Indeed, the rather heavily sedated Shadic still hadn't given any sign that she'd come out of it soon. Throughout the entire trip thus far she had laid rag-doll like across Soko's lap, though the warm breath striking him in the chest let Soko know that she was fine.

"I think she's the lucky one here," Tails said with a somewhat nervous laugh. "She gets to sleep!"

"It will probably do her a lot of good," Soko said as he glanced down at her again. "She's pretty banged up."

"Not as bad as Shadow and Sonic…"

"No…I suppose not…"

And so ended another tried conversation. Oh well, at least Tails could say that he was getting better at making Soko talk. He wasn't _such_ a bad guy once you got to know him.

* * *

It was probably another good forty-five minutes before the crew reached the secondary workshop Tails had built. After the Tornado began descending and got close enough, the large hanger doors on the side of the shop opened automatically, thanks to the new additions Tails had installed. He skillfully brought the plane down on the runway leading into the hangar, and once they slowed down steered it effortlessly inside.

"Welcome to my home away from home!" he announced.

"It's about time!" Knuckles, the first one on the ground grumbled. Judging by his completely slicked back fur and rather irritated tone, he had not had a pleasant ride.

"Just be glad that we made it," Tails replied. He took his time getting down and took a good, long stretch. "Hang on a minute, Soko, and I'll give ya a hand," he told Soko, whom was looking a bit puzzled on how he was going to get up. "I just wanna check some things out first."

"So what's next?" Knuckles asked as he both tried to get his fur to lay right and watch Tails poke around his machine. Before the fox answered he shook his head and disappeared underneath the plane.

"I dunno," came his voice, sounding slightly metallic due to his position. "I guess we ought to find a place to keep Shadic."

"She isn't going to _stay_ anywhere," Soko said needlessly.

"Oh I don't know," Knuckles said. "If you grabbed another bottle of whatever she's on now, I guarantee we can keep her anywhere until next winter."

"No, I think we're gonna have to strap her to something – preferably that something being bolted to the floor…" Tails trailed off as he became absorbed in his checking of the Tornado again. The closer he got to the Emerald at the front, the warmer the air became; Tails wouldn't be able to so much as poke the nose without searing his finger. "I think I might have pushed her a _little_ too far this time," he mumbled over the ticking sounds coming from his masterpiece. "I don't think the Tornado's ever gone so far in one day before," he added as he came back into view. "It's gonna take a long time for her to cool down, but she deserves a break."

"Well now that we know that the plane's gonna make it," Knuckles impatiently, and sarcastically, said, "how about we do some worrying for ourselves?"

"He's right," Soko agreed. "We don't exactly know how long we can wait before Shadic's awake again. It's important that we find somewhere safe for her to stay. But I don't want to have to tie her down…"

"I don't think we can get around that one, Soko," Tails said with a frown. "You saw Sonic and Shadow. Remember, we can't help her if we're in pieces."

He crawled back up onto the Tornado and held out his arms. "Here, give her to me until you get down," he offered. Soko looked skeptical.

"Are you sure? She's probably a great deal heavier than you are."

"She's probably a lot lighter than Sonic is though, and I can fly with him for almost thirty seconds."

Soko considered arguing, but decided against it. He merely shook his head and let Tails take Shadic for a while. Surprisingly, he could support Shadic's weight all right; it was just her size that made things awkward for him. But he was able to get her onto the ground while Soko got around. His stiff joints made a harsh popping sound, similar to that of bubble wrap being stepped on.

"Ooh, ouch…" he groaned softly.

"Aw man, you need to get out more if you're cracking like that already," Knuckles said with an involuntary shudder.

"It's not like I'm exactly used to sitting in a metal seat with thirty-plus pounds on my lap for a few hours," Soko returned as he rubbed his lower back. It gave one last stubborn _snap! _that made everyone wince.

"If you want, you can walk around for a bit," Tails offered. "It's all forest area out here, so there's plenty of room."

Soko declined and Tails shrugged his shoulders in a suit-yourself manner. The hedgehog willingly resumed the duty of carrying Shadic so that Tails was free to let them in. It wasn't a very spacious home, but it did quite well, especially for a single eight-year-old. There was a small kitchen to one side with a refrigerator and microwave, a living area that contained a two-person couch, coffee table, and an old television, and there were stairs leading both upstairs and down.

"It would probably be best to keep Shadic down in the lab. That's were all my equipment is," Tails told Soko. "You can set her down on the couch for now, maybe clean up some of those scratches before they get infected. I'll see if I can find a table or something to keep her on downstairs, and find a way to actually keep her _on_ it."

"And…?" Knuckles asked when Tails didn't assign a chore for him, "what about me?"

"I dunno, wanna make coffee?" the fox asked hopefully.

"Ah I see how it is, bring me along as the cook!" Knuckles scowled.

"Well seeing as we'll probably be up all night anyway…"

"Fine, fine!"

"Thank you, Knuckles!" Tails said with a bright smile, but also with enough laughter in his voice to reveal the faint purpose of mocking. "Oh, and I'll get you some peroxide and stuff," he told Soko, whom was still standing around rather tensely. "Go ahead and put her down, I'll be right back."

Soko watched Tails run off before moving towards the couch. The kid seemed to have suddenly picked up an awful lot of energy… Too bad he couldn't share it.

He gently laid Shadic down on the small couch, her left side facing outward to him since that was where many of her cuts were. None of them were too awfully bad though, he had to admit. They did need cleaning, for there was a good bit of dirt in them already, but they would heal without much of a problem.

He pulled the table out a bit so that he could have room to sit on his knees and waited for Tails. He didn't really want to look at Shadic, since it made him feel guilty, so he settled for observing his surroundings. Soko had never been very good with new places, but if he could at least figure out what was around him he wouldn't be quite so up-tight. There just wasn't very much to look at. Basic everyday items were scattered here and there: a TV remote on the table, a closet and a small desk that he hadn't noticed before… A telephone sat upon the desk, along with a random assortment of pencils, papers, etcetera. The walls were speckled with a collection of photographs as well, mostly of Tails and his friends. Speaking of whom…

"Sorry I took so long," Tails apologized as he set down a bag of cotton balls, gauze, and a bottle of peroxide on the table behind Soko. "My cabinets are a bit messy…"

"Don't worry about it," Soko told him as the fox blushed slightly.

"Just ask Knuckles if you need any help. I'll be down in the lab if you need me, right down there." Tails pointed out the correct set of stars for Soko. "I'll come let you know when it's all ready for Shadic, ok?"

Soko nodded. "Thank you, for all your help," he added awkwardly.

Realizing that he had just received a sincere thanks from the quiet, reserved hedgehog, Tails grinned. "It's no problem."

Soko returned a brief smile before Tails departed, and then began sorting through the materials the fox had placed on the table. He carefully unscrewed the lid to the peroxide and soaked a few cotton balls in the liquid. He gently dabbed at what looked to be the worst of Shadic's wounds, rather glad that she was unable to feel the sting. After another minute or two and a few more cotton balls, Soko tore a long strip of gauze from the roll with his teeth, and wrapped the now clean wound that tarnished her upper arm. Lacking any sort of clip to keep it in place, he simply started in the middle and tied the two ends together.

At first pleased with his handiwork, Soko soon frowned as he sat back long enough to see the whole picture.

"One down…" he sighed.

"A million to go?" the now approaching Knuckles finished. "That what you were going to say?"

"A hundred actually, but yours works too. Better, even."

"Well with an attitude like that…" Knuckles set down a cup of coffee on the table for Soko and took a quick swig of his own.

"Thanks."

"Yeah. Scoot." He put his cup down as well and squatted next to the hedgehog. "Eh, not bad so far," he said of the only cleaned wound.

"Didn't think I'd ever use that first aid training. It would probably be a lot better if I have."

"You know, you doubt yourself too much. Hand me that bag of cotton balls."

Soko did so and Knuckles helped himself to a decent handful. He soaked them and worked on some of the numerous but smaller scrapes around Shadic's face.

"I'd offer to take over from here," he said, "but I think I know you enough by now to not even bother."

Soko gave a snort. "But you did bother."

"Just saying. You do deserve a break though, whether you want it or not."

"Why don't you take one now," A quick pause to tear off another strip of gauze, "and I'll consider one later?"

Knuckles smiled. "Yeah, right. Have fun working until you collapse, I'll just go see what Tails is up to. Seeing as you don't want any help and all."

Knuckles stood and stopped in the kitchen again before going downstairs. He looked around for another cup for Tails, grabbed the milk, and poured him some coffee. Over half of it was milk, as the fox was still young to be drinking too much coffee, and he liked it this way anyhow. The fact that the youngster liked the taste of coffee at all he blamed on Sonic.

"Tails?" Knuckles called as he made his way down the stairs and into the lab. It was as long and as wide as the whole "house", and had enough hiding places to make it easy to lose someone.

"I'm in here!" Tails called.

"That helps an awful lot…"

"The little room."

"Ah, that's a bit better."

Most of the lab consisted of one cluttered room, but Tails did have a smaller area walled off where he usually wrote and worked on his plans. Knuckles almost didn't see him in there, because the fox was crouched behind a table he had placed on its side.

"Brought you a drink, care to take a breather?" he asked.

"Just a quick one," Tails agreed. He came off from his knees and accepted the mug.

Knuckles waited until Tails had gulped some down and licked his lips before asking how he was coming along.

"I found this table that I didn't really need, and some leftover canvas from that glider Sonic and I 'tried' to make. I cut it up into two long strips and added this loop on one end, see?" He held that end up for Knuckles to see, and pointed out all the staples he used to make the loop stay in place. "Then I found these two little latch things, which I'm working on nailing to once side of the table. I think I can kinda show you even though they aren't on yet…"

He righted the table back onto all four legs and had Knuckles hold one piece of bent metal to the side, so that it stuck out from the rest of the table. Then he put the strip of material over the table so both ends hung over the edges. He knelt beneath the table and dropped the one loose end through the loop and pulled it tight to demonstrate that it would be enough to keep the occupant down. As he came out on the opposite side of the table, he brought the rest of the loose end with him and threw it over a second time. It was long enough to reach Knuckles again, and could be fastened to the latch he held.

"One will go across Shadic's chest," Tails explained, "and the other will go somewhere around her ankles. The canvas is soft enough to keep Soko from worrying about hurting her, but should be strong enough to hold her pretty still, especially when it's doubled over like that."

"Simple yet effective," Knuckles approved. "How'd you come up with that one?"

"I remembered getting my fingers stuck in one of those knots by accident," the blushing Tails admitted. "The harder you pull to get out, the tighter the knot gets. Sounds like a good one to use here."

"Amazing where you get ideas… How long 'til you finish?"

"Shouldn't be too much longer. The hardest part was thinking of a plan, and even that wasn't too bad. All I really have left to do is screw these pieces on."

"Ok, you do that." Knuckles pulled out Tails' spinning chair and sat backwards on it, resting his arms upon the back of the chair and his head upon that. "Meanwhile, mind if I bother you with a wee little theory I came up with?"

"Sure." Tails turned the table back over and found his tools again. "About what?"

"About whatever juice Shadic is allegedly running off of," Knuckles said slowly.

Tails briefly raised an eyebrow. He guessed that this was something Knuckles may have been brooding over on the way. "Ok…"

"Well, you ran a blood test on her, what is it really?"

"Oh you know, this, that, and the other thing. It's mostly a Super though, just like she said. Why?"

"I was just wondering how that's possible, considering that all seven are where they're supposed to be," Knuckles said, now staring at the floor, deep in thought.

"They are? Are you sure?"

"She brought it up while we were at the Island, don't you think I'd have checked?"

"But then-" Tails' eyes suddenly lit up and his tools lowered. "Nah, you don't think…?"

"I _do_ think."

"GUN figured out a way to copy a Super?"

"Just like you did with the Chaos Emeralds."

"But…" he gave a little gasp, "copies aren't good for going Super!"

"Which makes me wonder. Of course she did have all seven Chaos Emeralds, so maybe the extra Super didn't matter."

"But what if it did mess things up?"

"Then I bet Shadic was in a world of hurt the whole time. Going Super is one thing, Hyper another, but trying to mix the two? It just doesn't happen – especially with a fake involved."

"So she doesn't have any Chaos charge?" Tails asked softly, almost with pity. "Neutral?"

"Nah, neutrals could hang around any kind of Emerald all day without gaining any power. She can obviously get a heck of a boost from them, but that fake Super keeps the energy from evening out. So it's probably a good thing you got to her before it got too far out of sync." Knuckles shivered. "Not a nice way to go."

"Ok…worse than neutral…" Tails decided after shaking a disgusted look from his face. "You tell Soko this yet?"

"No, I wanted to run it by you first."

"I'd like to know how long you've had this idea."

"A while."

"And you're only bringing it up now?"

"Well, yeah. Hey, I just figured Shadic was lying or misinformed or whatever the first time. But seeing all that blood caked up on her got me thinking again."

"You'd might as well go tell him now. I won't be ready for probably another ten, fifteen minutes," Tails estimated. Knuckles gave a bit of a whine.

"Do I have to?" he asked. "I mean, don't you think the guy is stressed enough as it is?"

"I'm sure he is, but it's kinda important. Even if it's just a theory; we all need to be on the same page to help Shadic," Tails said very seriously, which was enough to get Knuckles to give in.

"Oh, well, _this_ will be fun…" Knuckles stood, pushed Tails' chair back, and slowly made his way upstairs again. He let a few minutes pass as he stalled in the hallway, briefly wondering if Soko might know about this idea already. He had been part of the great GUN scheme at one point after all… But that didn't seem very likely, as he obviously showed that he cared for Shadic's well-being. Maybe he just didn't know as many of her fine points as he thought.

"How you coming along, Soko?" Knuckles asked, acting as though he had just come up.

"Fine," was his answer.

"Tails says he'll be ready in about ten minutes," he added as he came to watch Soko's work from over the back of the couch. He had actually gotten a lot done since he had left. "Hey, Shadic's not in any danger from bleeding, is she?" Knuckles started off. Soko paused in a moment of confusion.

"I don't think so…she didn't lose _that_ much."

"I know, but it's not a case of 'she gets what she has and that's it' is it?"

"No…" Soko said more slowly. "Shadic's body can generate new blood cells, just likes yours can, Knuckles."

"Oh…well that's good. So why did you guys go to so much trouble to make a new blood type again?"

"Why are you so interested? So suddenly, I might add…" This time, Soko didn't go back to his task, but fixed Knuckles in his gaze, a bit of suspicion trickling through.

"Listen, finish up what you're doing," the echidna sighed. He never had been very good at beating around the bush. "I've got a story for you when you're done."

Soko sat back and settled his arms upon his lap, looking even less likely to "finish up". "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Keep working, will you?" Knuckles said rather harshly. He waited until Soko finally gave in before so much as opening his mouth again. "I just had a few half-baked ideas, and when I threw them all together for Tails he agreed that I may have stumbled across yet another twist to that girl of yours."

"A wild guess tells me this has something to do with the Super."

"Pretty much. How much do you know about the Emeralds?"

"As much as anyone else, why?"

Knuckles had to shake his head. "'Anyone else' basically knows that they're shiny and that's it. So, again, finish up, get Shadic downstairs, and prepare for a crash course in Chaos and Super Emeralds."

"Again, what _exactly _does this have to do with our current situation?"

"A lot, bottom line being that Shadic shouldn't have been able to go Super at all, but somehow still did. Leave it at that."

Soko was going to speak again, but Knuckles shushed him.

"I'm going to unload the Tornado," Knuckles said. "You should be done by the time I am, and once we have her settled, we'll tell you our thoughts, ok?"

He was a bit reluctant to agree, but the hedgehog wasn't exactly given much choice. Knuckles left him to finish, and exited out the door they had originally come in from. It seemed that he was they only one who remembered the stash of supplies they had stuffed into the small storage compartment of the Tornado. In fact, the only reason he had remembered was that all this talk of Emeralds reminded him that there were more than glass jars thrown in there. He took care when ducking beneath the Tornado, as the machine was still cooling and the compartment he wanted to get to was under the plane and towards the back. Once opened, Knuckles was greeted by the dull, yet warm glow of all seven Chaos Emeralds. It always gave him a good feeling to see them all safe and sound – not to mention in one place.

In an effort to make things just a bit easier on himself, Knuckles emptied a box stacked in the corner of its contents and began putting the luggage inside. His plan was to first take the Chaos Emeralds upstairs to Tails' room and stow them away until he had a few free hours when he would be able to make the trek up to the Floating Island. After finding a suitable hiding spot, he'd take the rest of the supplies downstairs. And then after that…well, after that he might have something thrown at him, once Tails figured out that he had been weeded into telling the Chaos-Super theory to Soko… Oh well, he'd get over it.

Very carefully, Knuckles lifted the box and left the Tornado once again. He had to balance the box on one side to open the door, and entered just as Soko appeared to have stood, Shadic in tow.

"Finally done?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah. A lot of wounds, but I don't think they'll be much of a pro-"

Soko quite suddenly dropped the rest of his sentence and looked down at Shadic.

"Um…something wrong?" Knuckles asked.

"I…think she's starting to come-to," Soko answered slowly.

"But I didn't see her move or anything…"

"She didn't. She just got tense all of a sudden…"

"Better get a move on them. I'll be down in a few minutes; I just want to drop these off upstairs first."

They didn't even spare enough time to agree. Rather, Knuckles took the staircase up, and Soko the one down. When Soko reached the basement-slash-lab, he would have been instantly lost had Tails not been in plain view. He briskly walked to the fox, and must have made more noise than he wanted as Tails lifted his head.

"Good timing, Soko, I just finished. Come on." Tails beckoned him into the smaller, out of sight room, and showed him the simple concept he made for keeping Shadic still and out of trouble.

Soko stood and surveyed the table for awhile before laying Shadic upon it and saying "It'll have to do." Tails had expected much more of an argument, and was surprised that he had complied so easily.

"Are you sure?" he found himself asking, drawing a look from Soko.

"Yes, I'm sure, now help me with this."

His tone actually became slightly irritable, just very little by normal standards, but considering who it was, Tails got right on it. The fox took care of the strip of canvas that was to go across Shadic's chest, and Soko copied Tails' actions and did the same around her calves.

"I wish we could make her more comfortable," Tails said softly when they had finished hardly a few moments later. "But at least she looks relaxed now, huh? She was pretty scary earlier."

Soko nodded, just noticing that she did seem to have relaxed again, and was no longer tense as she had been upstairs. Awkward…was she waking up or not?

* * *

"Hey guys, I brought you some stuff," Knuckles announced as he entered the room. He dropped the now Emerald-free box from the Tornado onto Tails' desk.

"Oh, all the stuff you and Rouge took from GUN?" Tails asked of Soko.

"Must be, which reminds me…" He rummaged around in the box until he found the container he was looking for: the one Rouge had found that was labeled "Power Down". "Tying her to that table won't do much good if she could just teleport herself somewhere else."

"What's that stuff do?" Tails asked.

"It's supposed to temporarily disable Shadic's Chaos powers."

"Another advantage to making a custom blood type?" Knuckles thought out loud.

"I doubt GUN had that in mind."

"Not sure I believe that…" Knuckles whispered to Tails as Soko busied himself with loading a syringe and injecting some of the liquid into Shadic's bloodstream. Tails just shook his head and shrugged a little.

"I take it he took the news well then?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Uh…no, not yet anyway…"

"Knuckles!" Tails groaned, forgetting to whisper.

"Whaaat? I told Soko that we'd both tell the story after Shadic was all set, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Soko agreed as he pulled himself away from Shadic's side and crossed his arms. "How bad is it, that neither of you seem to want to tell me?"

"Well, we just don't want to be guilty of adding to your stress…" Tails told him innocently.

"In my line of work you learn to handle a lot of stress. So, I suggest that you grab your cup and perhaps go back upstairs to tell me what the hell you know. Sound like a plan?"

"Why upstairs?" Knuckles asked.

"Because I don't want_ her _to wake up mid-conversation and hear. If we should worry about anyone's stress levels, it should be hers soon enough."

* * *

Having all agreed to Soko's point, the three returned upstairs and seated themselves around the small kitchen table.

"First of all," Knuckles started, as Tails didn't seem like he would and Soko was likely to lose his patience, "do you honestly have any idea why GUN did what they did? Tell me the reason they had for putting a Super Emerald inside a person's body."

"Just…added power I guess," Soko answered. "I mean, look, she can use Chaos Control whenever she wants, because she has no choice but to carry an Emerald with her at all times. I'd say that's a good reason."

"Uh-huh…" Knuckles nodded. "Did they ever mention that Shadic's 'Emerald' isn't real?"

Soko looked confused. "No…how could they fake that?"

"With a fake Emerald."

"Could they really do that?"

Tails joined in at this point. "Creating fake copies of Emeralds is still recently new. So far I'm the only one who's done it, but I still can't make a true, absolutely exact duplicate. No one can."

"And up to now we thought we could only come close to copying Chaos Emeralds," Knuckles added. "Even Tails hasn't tried to dup a Super."

"It seems like GUN did though; probably shortly after I finished the second yellow Chaos Emerald – the same one that powers the Tornado and got us here, by the way. But, I can't believe that they really did it, because a Super Emerald is _much_ more complex than a Chaos Emerald."

"Do you think it's likely that they made a mistake then?" Soko asked, horrified of the thought. Tails and Knuckles shared a glance.

"Actually, it seems like they did just as good of a job as Tails did with his," Knuckles assured him.

"Better even," Tails countered, "because they were able to make it into a blood-like substance that a person can actually live and function with."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Well," Tails said after a short, silent moment had passed, "no matter how good of a copy it is, fake Emeralds aren't supposed to be used for going Super. There's just something about them that doesn't work right."

"And just to stick with this one problem, because it's a Super Emerald, not a Chaos Emerald, Shadic technically can't go Super at all!"

"Why not?" Soko didn't know very much about all this Super form stuff, but he had heard stories when he was younger, and of course saw plenty of it tonight for himself. "To me it looked like she had done it earlier."

"That wouldn't have been a true Super form," Knuckles explained. "See, you go Super when you take power from the Chaos Emeralds. You can achieve a more powerful version, called the Hyper form, if you do the same thing with Super Emeralds. That's where the problem with Shadic comes up…"

"It's impossible for her to just go Super, because she'll always have that one Super in the equation," Tails said.

"So she was both?"

"Not really." Knuckles could see that they had already royally confused Soko. "See, going Super is a complicated process, and not everyone can do it. Keeping the form requires the user to maintain a careful balance of energy. It has to flow throughout the body at a steady, constant pace, and there isn't much room for error. Usually the Super form instantly breaks down once the balance shifts."

"Take Sonic for example," Tails chimed. "He's very experienced when it comes to Chaos energy, so he can stay Super for a long time without hardly any effort at all. But before, when he was just starting, a swift kick to the shin would be plenty to break his concentration."

"But Shadic isn't experienced," Knuckles continued. "I'm sure that today had to have been the first time she ever tried, too. It's a wonder she got that far at all, and I doubt she had an easy time with it."

"She did pretty good though…" Tails said shyly, reminding everyone where Sonic and Shadow were at the moment.

"So what would have happened to her had we not put her to sleep?" Soko asked quietly. "Is this imbalance dangerous?"

"I really don't know," Knuckles answered truthfully. "I could make guesses, but you gotta remember that all of this just clicked a few hours ago."

"We could probably do some research though," Tails offered. "See just what we can learn. We're a pretty good team for it after all. Knuckles knows the Emeralds, I know science, and Soko knows Shadic."

"So while we try and undo the damage caused by GUN, we're going to try to unravel their reasoning for the Super too," Soko repeated to himself. He shook his head and added, "I never thought that they had more than power planned…if unbalanced Chaos and Super energy _is_ dangerous…"

Even though the stunned hedgehog didn't finish, both Tails and Knuckles knew where he was going with this thought. If GUN knew of the problems the Super Emerald brought, then it wasn't likely that they had continued just to get the advantage of unlimited Chaos powers…

…they may have wanted a clean way to dispose of her, too.


End file.
